Life Lessons
by jgardner13
Summary: Set one year after the Yuuzhan Vong War, Jaden Korr (LSF) and Rosh Penin take the next step in their Jedi careers: they are now the teachers. They take on an eclectic group of five new Jedi recruits, Revan, Atris, Saltanna, Satori-Amd, and Reeko. 1st person told from Revan's (not THAT Revan) POV as he records his life lessons. Rated T for violence. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

(I don't own Star Wars, obviously, so credit to George Lucas etc. Also credit to Darkness1 for the concept inspiration.)

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Life lesson number 104: if you like your life and see a pair of Jedi staring you down for no apparent reason, run away. Very fast. In fact, even if you don't like your life, run away because it is about to change forever.

I, of course, only learned this in hindsight. There I was, standing like an idiot near a docking pad on Nar Shaada watching two robed figures exit a transport. Then, like a synchronized swimming team, they turned in unison and stared right at me. Now I don't think I'm anything special; just your run of the mill street urchin. Needless to say it was a bit eerie to have two Jedi staring at me.

Looking back, I should have taken that as my cue to exit stage left. Or right. Or any exit because usually when Jedi study someone like me, it means we're in trouble. Instead I did the second dumbest thing I could have: I stared back.

One was a man, mid-30's, fair-skinned with short, spikey black hair, dark eyes, and a lightsaber (duh) at his side. The other was a woman, maybe a year or two younger, long blond hair, icy blue eyes, and a staff, which was unique. Underneath the typical brown Jedi robes they wore typical clothes; the man a red and white combination shirt with black pants, the woman a beige tunic with a green border and tight pants. Although, lightsabers aside, there was nothing intimidating about them (certainly not compared to the characters I deal with on a daily basis), there was something about them that radiated power. It was an indescribable aura. So naturally I did the absolute dumbest thing I could have done.

I decided to say hi.

Normally I'm opposed to meeting strangers, especially strangers that have connections to the law. I kind of live on the dark-gray side of the law, if you catch my drift, but there was something about these two that drew me like a magnet.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I asked, coming up to them.

Neither answered, but instead had some sort of wordless exchange that I've heard Jedi can do. That's when it happened.

It was like I saw it before it happened. I get that sometimes, like a premonition, where time doesn't just slow down for me, but I see things before they occur. I've never quite been able to explain it, but that gift is what's kept me alive so far.

In a motion smooth as Alderaanian silk, the man drew his saber and slashed at my head. Anyone else would have been decapitated, but because I knew it was coming, I had my cortosis-woven vibroblade up in time to block the strike.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted, stunned at the sudden and totally unprovoked attack. Around me, a couple people stopped and stared, but most kept going, not wanting to get mixed up in "Jedi-business."

"Have any doubts, Jaden?" the man asked his companion.

"None anymore, Rosh," the female, Jaden I suppose, answered. "He definitely has it."

"Have what?" I demanded. "What's going on? Who are?"

"We have some business to attend to here," Rosh turned to me. "But we have much to discuss with you. Could you meet us in the cantina in four hours?"

"Why? This too conspicuous a place to kill me?" I lowered my blade, but did not sheath it.

"We have no desire to kill you," Jaden attempted to soothe. It didn't work.

"Could've fooled me," I retorted.

"It's…complicated," Rosh shared another "look" with Jaden. "And we really are on a bit of a time budget. Please meet with us. It could change your life."

I shrugged. Other than my head, what did I have to lose? It wasn't like Nar Shaada was paradise. "Sure, why not?" I answered.

"Good," Jaden gave a relieved smile. "Oh, what's your name?"

"Revan," I told her.

Life lesson number 105: if you don't want your world rocked, when a Jedi asks you to meet with him (her), just don't go. They have a habit of changing the way your world operates forever.

In fact, life lesson number 106: avoid Jedi at all costs. Period.

Had I known what I know now, I would have stood the Jedi up. Of course had I known what I know now, then it would have been moot. Jedi have a way of telling you stuff that makes your life a lot more complicated and that once you find out, you wish you had never known. But of course if you had never known it, then you couldn't have said no to finding out. See the problem?

In other words, I showed up.

"We're glad you decided to come," Rosh said from his seat. "We were worried you might not."

"Let's just say my curiosity was piqued," I answered, crossing my arms. "Now would one of you please explain why the hell he tried to cut off my head?"

"I wasn't trying to kill you, but test you," Rosh replied, a hint of a smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

I was even less amused. At least if he was trying to kill me, I could protest my innocence. Instead he was just toying with me.

"And if I had failed your test?" I questioned.

"You would not have been harmed," Rosh replied. "A little shaken perhaps, but not harmed."

"Comforting," I snorted. "So what was I being tested for?"

"Please sit, Revan," Jaden gestured to the chair across from then. "We could be here for quite some time."

I probably should have blown them off, but I didn't. Instead I sat down.

"Tell, what do you know of the Force?" she asked, her Hoth-like eyes boring into me. It was like being under a microscope.

"Well," I replied slowly. "It's a mystical energy field made up of life. It connects everything together. For most people it exists largely unnoticed. But there are a few that, for whatever reason, develop a connection with this field. They have the ability to manipulate it into doing their bidding. In return, it guides them. Those who follow it for good, for the betterment of others, follow the light side and are generally Jedi. Those who follow it for evil, their own advancement at the expense of others, follow the dark side and are generally Sith."

"That's a rather simplistic answer, but essentially yes," Jaden repressed an amused smile, which didn't exactly help my mood.

"Condescension aside, what does this have to do with me?" I asked a moment before the pieces clicked into place. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

"No, we're quite serious," Rosh replied, stone faced. "You have an unusually strong connection to the Force, even for one who is Force-sensitive."

"And this justifies swinging a lightsaber at my head?" I exclaimed, nearly exploding out of my chair.

"It was a test of your reflexes," Rosh explained. "We sensed a strong, but unrefined, presence in the Force but couldn't quite be sure if it was you. If you blocked my slash, then it was you. If you didn't…Well, like I said, you were never in any real danger."

"You couldn't think of a better test?" I glared across the table at them.

"Admittedly, it does seem a bit extreme," Jaden allowed. "But it was effective. The Force is certainly strong with you. That is why we are offering to take you to the Jedi Academy to be trained as a Jedi."

Dead silence.

"Wait, you want me to _what_?" I asked after finding my voice again.

"We want you to become a Jedi," Jaden repeated. "We think you have great potential."

"Assuming I say yes, which is not guaranteed," I replied slowly, "why come to me now? Aren't you guys supposed to figure this stuff out when I was a kid?"

"Normally, yes," Rosh confirmed. "But the Yuuzhan Vong War, especially with their anti-Jedi campaign made it dangerous for us to identify potential Jedi the last several years. In addition, you live on Nar Shaada, which is easy to get lost in. With this much life in a compacted area, your presence in the Force was easily masked."

"I'm not going to lie to you," Jaden added. "The war has decimated our ranks and so we are desperate to rebuild them. Of course someone with your potential would've been taken anyway. But we have few teachers and our new facility on Ossus is still being finished. And we are having to force students to take a much more active role than we'd prefer. Training will be far tougher than it normally is."

"Kind of like the good old days, huh?" Rosh gave Jaden a nostalgic look. Jaden just rolled her eyes.

"So what do you say?" he asked, turning back to me.

I stared at them dumbfounded. My world had just been turned upside down. I mean, me? A Jedi? Really?

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "To be honest, it's a lot to process."

"I understand," Jaden nodded sympathetically. "The life of a Jedi is not an easy one. Learning to use the Force opens to the door to a whole new universe, but with it comes a heavy responsibility. A Jedi's life is often one of hardship and sacrifice, a lesson the Vong painfully reminded us of."

A grim, but sad look crossed each face as I imagined them remembering comrades who had died. I was still just a teenager, so the war hadn't really been a big deal for me. But even I was aware of how hard the Jedi had been hit by the Vong. It had not been pretty.

"I need time to think," I told them.

"Understandable," Rosh nodded. "We don't have room to take you back with us but there is a transport picking up prospective students. With Master Luke's approval, it will be at this docking platform in exactly three days. If you're willing to join us, then get aboard."

"Okay," I answered idiotically. What else was I supposed to say?

"I hope to see you soon," Jaden smiled softly as she and Rosh rose to leave. "Good luck and may the Force be with you."

I nodded dumbly as they swept out. Staring hard at the table I realized that the next three days were going to be the most important three days of my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Journey

"You're Revan, right?" an older pilot greeted me three days later at the docking port.

"That's me," I nodded.

"Curious name, Revan," he stroked his chin. "That name seems familiar, but I can't quite place it. Oh well, glad you could make it. Jaden and Rosh weren't sure you'd come. Welcome aboard"

"Thanks," I grunted, wondering what all that was about as I stepped past him in to the transport.

Truth be told, I wasn't sure I was coming myself until that morning. I had gone back and forth for the last three days. On the one hand, the Jedi did a lot of good. Plus they could help me figure out my powers and I could reach my potential. They would give me a home and a family, two things I had never had. But on the other hand, the life of a Jedi, as Jaden had said, was not easy. A lot of people had tried to kill or capture Jedi during the Yuuzhan Vong War and there was still a lot of resentment. The lightsaber was a target as much as it was a weapon.

In the end what had made up my mind was Rilkie, a seven-foot Gamorean thug with whom I had a "special" relationship. Rilkie ran a racketeering crew with three more Gamoreans that were the bane of the refugee sector. One day three years ago, I caught him shaking down a young family with a kid my age. Rilkie threatened to sell the boy into slavery if they didn't pay up, which they couldn't. That night I freed the boy and stole just about all of Rilkie's credits, which I then redistributed among the refugees (after a small commission, of course).

Needless to say, Rilkie was furious and when he found it was me, he came after me with a vengeance. After about six months, he caught up with me in the tunnels below the Jekk-Jekk-Tarr Café. We fought; I cut off his hand and he gave me a reminder on my back. Since then, we've played a game of cat and mouse, usually with me stealing stuff from him and him trying to find me.

Somehow, and do this day I haven't a clue how, he found my hiding spot that morning. It was almost by accident because he wasn't armed, something else that was unusual for Rilkie. Anyway, he threatened to tear me limb from limb and I told him to go ahead and try, since I had a vibroblade and he had nothing. Like most Gamoreans, Rilkie is fairly easily intimidated and backed off, but not without warning me that he'd be back with friends. I took that as my sign it was time to leave.

"So now, where are your things?" the pilot queried looking around.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Don't you have a bag or something?" he rephrased his question.

"Nope, this is pretty much it," I replied, doing a mental check of what I had: cloak, change of clothes, vibroblade, datapad with my few datacards, the 31 credits I had to my name, and of course my prized possession: my lightsaber (that's an interesting story, but for another time).

"That's it?" he gaped at me.

"I live light," I shrugged. "Now is there anything else, or can we be off?"

"In a hurry?" the man cocked a bushy eyebrow at me.

"Let's just say if I never see this place again, I won't shed any tears," I brusquely answered.

"Alright then, get inside," he told me. "We take off in ten."

The inside of the transport was thankfully fairly luxurious, at least from my point of view. I was excepting to have to be strapped into posture-correcting transparisteel benches the whole way. There were five rows of padded benches about six seats across. Near the rear entrance was a refresher, so I didn't have to hold it the whole way to Ossus, which from what I understood was nearly a day's worth of travel. Snacks and refreshments were on a bar up front.

I was also not alone, which for some reason surprised me. Sitting near the front were two aliens, a Rodian and a Twilek who were chatting away in their respective languages. Behind them, looking like she wanted to commit suicide, was Iridonian female with her signature horns poking through her long brown hair.

"(Hey, new guy!)" the Rodian exclaimed, turning around. "(I'm Reeko. What's your name?)"

"(Revan)" I responded in his own language.

"(You speak Rodian?)" his bug-eyes widened even further.

"Amongst other things," I shrugged, returning to Basic for the sake of the confused Iridonian.

"You speak Rodian?" she echoed.

"Amongst other things," I repeated.

"Good," she growled, glaring blaster bolts at the Rodian. "Can you tell him to shut up? He's giving me a headache."

Reeko gave her an evil look, which between you and me doesn't look much different than any other Rodian facial expression, and then rattled something off in Rodian that I decided against translating.

"What did he say?" the Iridonian looked at me.

"I don't think you want to know," I replied as diplomatically as I could. Reeko jabbered away at her some more. All that did was infuriate the Iridonian even more, which I think was the point.

"You've got something to say to me, bug boy?" she stood up and glared at him. "Well you can tell me when you learn Basic."

"He can't," a new voice spoke up.

I whirled around to find the owner of the voice. There in the back corner was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. She was an Arkanian, about my age, with silver hair, pure white eyes, and a gorgeously angular face. She was wearing the typical rich, white, flowing robes of the Arkanians so I couldn't quite see her figure, but if the rest of her was any indication, it was stunning.

"What?" I asked, shaking myself back to reality.

"He can't learn to speak Basic," the girl repeated flatly. "Rodian's facial structure doesn't allow them form Basic words. You'll have to learn Rodian."

"Like hell, bookworm!" the Iridonian snapped.

"Sorry," the girl mumbled softly and turned to the window.

"Be nice; you know she's shy," the Twilek chided the Iridonian.

"I don't care," the Iridonian growled. "You haven't had to sit with her for the last three days. I am getting sick and tired of her know-it-all attitude."

Right about now Rilkie was looking pretty good.

"Okay, let's calm down," I cut in before this got ugly. "Hey, are you these snacks free?"

"Yeah, duh," the Iridonian snorted. "We're part of the Jedi now, so we get the perks of the trip. Besides, they've got feed us."

"Sweet because I'm starving," I reached out to grab a bag of chips. As I did, my cloak fell open, revealing the lightsaber clipped to my belt.

"(You have a lightsaber!)" Reeko exclaimed, his big eyes getting wider.

"Oh, yeah, I do," I mumbled feeling suddenly very awkward.

"Let me see!" the Twilek, a green female, held out her hand.

"See what?" the Iridonian asked.

"He's got a lightsaber," the Twilek told her.

"Really?" the Iridonian looked impressed. "I've got to see this."

Suddenly I was swarmed by three very curious teenagers. Even the Arkanian perked up, glancing over from her corner. With a sigh, I unclipped the weapon from my belt and held it out in my palm for my companions to examine.

The hilt was comparatively short, only about ten inches or so. Running the length of the hilt were four evenly spaced ridges that extended past the emitter, forming four claw-like spikes. About two-thirds up the hilt between two ridges was the red activation button.

"(Cool)," Reeko breathed. Apparently it impressed him enough to shut him up for a moment.

"Simple, yet elegant," commented the Twilek. "I hope they let you use it instead of forcing you to use one the training sabers the rest of us will be stuck with."

"They'd better," the Iridonian agreed. "It looks really old. Where did you get it?"

"That's a bit of a story," I answered, hoping they'd drop it. No such luck.

"(We've got an eight hour trip to Ossus, so spill)," Reeko demanded.

"What he said," the Iridonian agreed.

"Well," I said sitting down, "I'm not really sure where it comes from, to be honest. My parents gave it to me when I was really little, I guess. I'm not a hundred percent sure. At any rate, it's the only thing of theirs I have left."

"What happened to them?" the Twilek asked.

"They died," I answered.

That wasn't strictly true. The truth is I have no idea what happened to my parents or who they even were. Neither do I particularly care. All I know is they abandoned me with a lightsaber on Nar Shaada when I was an infant. I wouldn't recognize them if I met them on the street.

The reason I tell people they died is because when I talk about them vanishing, I get the oh-you-poor-child look that grates me and promises that people will keep a look out for them. Invariably I'm asked to describe them, which I can't because I haven't seen them in at least 16 years. Just telling people they died is easier.

"That makes two of us," the Iridonian stuck out her hand. "I'm Satori-Amd. My parents ran a droid shop on Coruscant until the Vong killed them. My uncle has raised me since."

"I'm Saltanna, but most people call me Salty," the Twilek added. "And you are?"

"Revan," I answered.

"(Do you know how to use it? What color is the blade?)" Reeko shot of the questions like a stormtrooper.

"I've—"

"Hey kids, we'll be taking off now, so get settled in. Next stop: Ossus," the old pilot's voice boomed over the intercom.

"Good, I hate just sitting around," I commented.

"In a hurry?" Satori raised an eyebrow.

"You could say that," I replied.

"(About your lightsaber, turn it on!)" Reeko excitedly pressed.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," I answered looking around. "This isn't exactly the place to ignite a meter long blade that cuts through anything. I'm pretty the Jedi order doesn't want me messing up their upholstery."

"Come on," Saltanna pleaded. "You gotta show us."

"Not really," I told her.

"(At least answer my questions. Do you know how to use it? What color is it? Is it red?)" Reeko fired off.

"Yeah, is it red? Because that would be so cool!" Salty added emphatically.

"Isn't red the color of the Sith?" I queried.

"Yeah!" Salty nodded, her lekku twitching excitedly.

"So why would that be cool?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Salty answered with an impudent grin. "It just would, that's all."

"To answer your questions," I looked to Reeko. "I've dabbled with it, but they're a lot harder to wield than you think. I prefer my vibroblade."

"And the color?" Satori questioned.

"Purple," I supplied.

"Purple? Really?" Satori smirked.

"And what color is yours?" I retorted.

"(He's gotcha there)," Reeko gave a Rodian smirk.

"What was that, bug-boy?" snapped Satori.

"You really need to learn Rodian," Salty commented.

I sensed another argument coming and didn't feel like being peacemaker this time. Instead I retreated to back corner and took a seat next to the Arkanian girl. A moment after I sat down, I felt the rumble of the engines and the pull as we took off.

It was the first time I had ever flown in a spacecraft. I had been in speeders of course, usually in someone's custody, but this was different. Reflexively I grabbed the armrests to brace myself. The girl just stared out the window as the Nar Shaada skyline began to race past.

"Good-bye, Smuggler's Moon," I whispered looking past her. I didn't have any feelings of nostalgia or anything like that. I was more than happy to leave that slime-pit of misery. Instead I felt trepidation as I left the only home I'd ever known. From here on out, everything was going to be new. Shaking my head, I put such thoughts out of my head and relaxed. In a few moments, the blue sky turned dark and the stars appeared.

"So what's your name?" I turned to the girl next to me.

"Atris," came the flat reply.

"Uh, okay," I stammered. "I'm—"

"Revan, I heard," she cut me off.

"Sociable, aren't you?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Atris answered. "I just haven't been around people that much."

"At least you understand sarcasm," I commented dryly.

She looked back out the window and fidgeted with the edge of her robe. Clearly I was making her uncomfortable, so I stood up to leave.

"No, stay," she whispered. "I'm just not used to being around people, but that's something I'd better get used to, I guess. I think purple's cool."

"Huh?" I cocked my head.

"I think purple's a cool color," she repeated. "For your lightsaber, I mean."

"Uh, thanks, I think," I replied.

"Some of the greatest Jedi in history have had purple blades. Anakin Solo, Mace Windu, even your namesake, Revan," she continued.

"Who?"

"Revan," Atris repeated. "He was a Jedi of the Old Republic some 4000 years ago. Some say he was the most powerful of the Old Republic. I don't know much about him, to be honest. A lot has been lost to time."

"And Windu, who was he?" I queried.

"Another powerful Jedi of the Old Republic, just before Palpatine took over. In fact, he was the Grand Master of the Order until he was killed by Palpatine," Atris said.

"And he had a purple blade?" I asked, feeling somewhat excited.

"Oh yes," Atris nodded, speaking faster. "In fact he was the greatest swordsman of his era. He was so great that he invented his own style. And Anakin—"

"I know what happened to him," I cut her off. That was a fate I was hoping to avoid. "How do you know so much?"

"I like to read," she shrugged. "How do you not?"

"You don't hold back, do you?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry," she flushed. "Like I said—"

"You're not used to being around people, I know," I waved her off. "It's alright. I grew up on the streets of Nar Shaada, which isn't exactly a center of learning and knowledge to begin with. Add living on the streets to that and let's just say I didn't exactly have the time to peruse."

"Sorry," she looked down.

"You don't have to apologize for everything," I told her with a coy smile.

"I'm—" I cut her off with a raised eyebrow.

She blushed again and looked away.

"Hey, I'm glad you're with us," I patted her hand as starlines streamed past. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest. It's going to be a long trip."

Leaning back, I closed my eyes and drifted off into another world.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Welcome to Hell (Also Known as Ossus)

The next thing I felt was a scaly hand wrap around my shoulder. Reflexively I grasped the offender's wrist, twisted it behind his back, and pressed my vibroblade against his throat.

"(I give! I give!)" Reeko whined.

Shaking the cobwebs out of my head, I released the Rodian and looked around. My companions were staring at me wide-eyed. Even Atris looked scared.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Satori finally snapped.

"Life lesson 23: never sneak up on a Nar Shaadan, especially if he is sleeping," I quoted. "(Sorry about that Reeko)."

"(Its okay)," the Rodian shrugged, rubbing his neck. "(I'll keep that in mind)."

"So what's going on?" I asked looking around.

"We're here, sleepyhead," Salty answered with a wry grin. "You must have been pretty tired."

"The streets of Nar Shaada aren't exactly conducive to good night sleeps," I commented wryly.

Behind us, the rear hatch hissed open and the portly pilot stepped in.

"Welcome to Ossus," he boomed with a grin. "The new students are assembling at the Temple. Master Skywalker himself will be there to address the newbies."

Nodding, we gathered up our things, which in my case wasn't hard, and shuffled towards the door.

"Where's your bag?" Atris asked softly from behind.

"This is all I got," I shrugged, making sure my blade was tight in its sheath on my back.

"Oh," she replied in a small voice. Looking back I saw that she was carrying two large bags which elicited a smirk from me.

"My parents are a bit protective," she sheepishly admitted.

"That's better than mine," I gave her a smile. "Come on, I'll help you with that." Without waiting for her protest, I grabbed one of her bags and pushed my way outside.

A million new sensations hit me at once. First, the ground was soft and squishy. For the first time in my life, I was touching actual, real dirt. It felt weird for the ground to give underneath me.

The second thing that hit me was the heat. It was only in the mid-80's, but for a Shaadan like me, it might as well have been an oven. The humidity felt pretty intense too. Another thing that struck me was all the nature around me. Everywhere I look there were trees, plants, animals, and various other forms of flora and fauna. This world was so different that it was more than a bit intimidating.

"Hey, you coming?" Satori called to me.

"Yeah, sure, right behind you," I nodded and followed after my fellow passengers.

Inside the central building, which looked like two pyramids stacked on top of each other, we were herded into a large assembly room. In the center were another thirty or so people my age, prospective students I assumed. Arrayed around the edge were another group of beings, the older Jedi. There were Rodians, Zabraks, Iridonians, Ithorians, and others, as well as humans.

Standing at the top of the platform everyone was facing was another group of even older Jedi. Luke Skywalker stood in the center, flanked by people I even recognized: his wife Mara Jade, of course, Kyp Durron, Kyle Katarn, Sebatyne, Corran Horn, and Kenth Hamner. The Jedi Masters.

Life lesson number 107: being in the same room as all those people is really, really intimidating.

"Welcome new students," Master Skywalker addressed us after we finished gathering. "I am glad to see that all of you made it here without incident. After the Yuuzhan Vong War, we need every recruit we can get.

"Because our ranks were decimated during the War, we have been forced to adopt a rather unusual training practice. We would prefer that each student would have his or her own teacher. Unfortunately this is not possible due to our lack in numbers. Therefore we will divide you into groups of five and assign two teachers to each. You will find your assignments posted outside the meal hall. Find them, along with your quarters and get settled. Training will begin tomorrow morning.

"I'd like to say that the next few days will be the toughest of your life, but your life will only get harder from here on out. They will, I can assure you, be the toughest days of your life to this point. Again I welcome you, future Jedi."

When he and the other masters stepped away without further word, we took that as our cue to move along. With Atris in tow (I had one of her bags after all) I made my way to the cafeteria through the mob to find out my room assignment. Finding the list posted to the door, I scanned it and sighed.

"I guess I'll take your bag the rest of the way," I told Atris, one of my new roommates.

"Why?" Atris asked, standing on her tip-toes, straining to see over my shoulder. Now that she was standing up, I saw how short she was. I'm no giant, barely six-foot, but this girl was at least a foot shorter than me. Her long white hair was tied in a pony tail that nearly reached down to her waist.

"We're roommates, along with Saltanna, Satori, and Reeko," I informed. "I guess we're in the same class."

Atris didn't say anything, but I could see her face flush with relief. I supposed that she didn't want to have to meet anyone else.

"Let's go," I jerked my head back down the hall. "We're on the second highest level, so we've got a bit of a hike."

After depositing Atris bag in our room and choosing a bunk, I decided to go for a walk. It was always a good idea to get a clear lay of the land, especially for escape routes: life lesson 12.

For the most part, the weird dual-pyramid type structure was simply and efficiently laid out. I passed by dormitories that were quickly filling up, classrooms, apartments, training and sparring rooms, and offices amongst other things. At the point where the two pyramids touched was a fantastically beautiful garden. There were several Jedi, including Corran Horn, that were mediating around. I was getting ready to head back to the cafeteria when I passed by another corridor of offices when a pair of familiar voices caught my attention.

"Master Skywalker, with all due respect, I must protest this!" Rosh's voice echoed down the halls. "We're not ready to be teachers."

"I disagree," Skywalker's calm voice replied. "I think you a ready for the next step in your careers. After all, you've been Jedi in good standing for 15 years. It's time that you took on students. And we need teachers."

"We understand that," Jaden's calmer voice spoke up. "It's who we have to teach rather than that we have to teach."

"Oh?" Skywalker questioned. "The boy Revan, from Nar Shaada." That got my attention. "As I recall, it was you two who found and recommended him."

"But that was before we found out we'd be teaching him!" Rosh exclaimed.

"What my friend is trying to say," Jaden clarified, "is that we don't feel qualified to teach him."

"And why might that be?" Skywalker questioned.

"He's different from the others," Jaden explained. "He's had a hard life. I don't know all the details of it, but he's been alone all his life and had to fight for every scrap of life. He could be dangerous, especially given how powerful he is, if he isn't taught properly."

"Don't get us wrong," Rosh added quickly. "With the right training, Revan could be a powerful Jedi."

"Ah, I see. And you two don't feel qualified to train him right?" Skywalker surmised.

"Not with my history and the dark side," Rosh said. "The others we can train, but Revan needs someone else. Maybe Master Horn or Master Katarn or even you."

"And you think we don't have our history with the dark side?" Skywalker queried with a touch of amusement.

"Well…"

"All of us have had our struggles with the dark side. We still will," Skywalker added. "It is the constant struggle of a Jedi. If anything Rosh, your brush with the dark side makes you an ideal teacher for our young student."

"Why us?" Rosh complained. "We're not ready."

"Two reasons," Skywalker answered. "One, you two are plateauing as Jedi. You've learned all you can on your own. It is time you passed on what you have learned. Two, who else am I going to send as teachers? Most of the masters and I are too busy rebuilding the Republic back on Coruscant to seriously take on students. Would you rather Zekk or Alema teach them? Or, Force forbid, Jaina or Tahiri? No. You are my last best option."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Rosh grumbled. Silently I agreed, though my sarcasm was directed at my future teachers.

"It is a vote of confidence," Skywalker stressed. "I believe in you so you should believe in yourselves. The Council's decision is final. It is getting close to dinnertime and it's time you introduced yourselves."

"Yes, master," two voices responded in chorus.

I took that as my cue to quickly mosey on to the cafeteria before I was busted for eavesdropping. As I walked to café, I thought about the conversation I had overheard. And the more I thought about it, the more it infuriated me. I felt like a thermodetonator; something that nobody really wanted to hold but would rather hold than let an enemy have it.

Not that I really had any reason to complain. Frankly I cared less about the Jedi than they appeared to care about me. I cared even less for Sith, of course. I wasn't even a Republic citizen (Nar Shaada is in Hutt space, after all). If I was honest with myself, which at the moment I wasn't, I had really only joined the Jedi to get off the slime pit known also known as Nar Shaada. It didn't matter I decided. I'd stick around, learn what I can, and then move on when things got sticky.

I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that I didn't pay attention to where I was going. Without meaning to, I slammed into something small and soft.

"What the hell?" I bellowed. My mood wasn't good, okay?

"Sorry, sorry," a small voice mumbled below me.

Looking down, I saw the diminutive figure of Atris scrambling to pick a few scattered datacards. Part of me felt guilty; most of me felt annoyed.

"It's okay," I sighed. "Just watch where you're going, alright?"

"So many people here," she muttered starting to move past me.

Putting my hand on her shoulder I held her up. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" I questioned.

"Supper," she answered shortly.

"Me too," I gave her a grin.

"You're going the wrong way," she told me in her trademarked monotone.

I stopped and cocked my head. How had I missed that? I made it a point to know my way around. I guess I had been more upset than I wanted to admit. Turning around I followed Atris to the café.

Fifteen minutes later, I plunked my vibroblade down beside my tray as I sat down with my classmates, eliciting raised eyebrows all around.

"What's with the sword?" Satori questioned.

"(I don't think there are any enemies here)," Reeko commented.

"You do know we're safe here, right?" Salty cocked her head.

"Life lessons 17 and 26," I answered flatly. "'No place is safe' and 'Never be unarmed.'"

"We're in a room with a bunch of Jedi," Salty smirked. "I think we're safe."

"Quite the contrary, this is probably the most dangerous place in the galaxy," I replied. Again I got raised eyebrows.

"Think about," I explained. "We are in a room with a hundred people who could kill us with a single thought if they so desired. I'd say we're in a very dangerous place."

"I'm glad to see you have a good grasp of the obvious. That is a crucial skill for a Jedi," Rosh commented dryly with Jaden at his side.

"Life lesson 54," I returned, "'Few things are as difficult, or important, as the obvious.'"

"Good to know," Jaden kept up a great poker face. "Now, as you may have guessed, Rosh and I are going to be your primary instructors until you are brought into the Order as full knights. In addition to combat training and the Force, you will also have classes in history, philosophy, diplomacy, art, mathematics, science, space travel, and engineering, as well as accompanying Rosh and I on missions for the Order."

"I hate school," Salty muttered. I had the feeling she didn't like sitting still.

"(When do we start combat training? When do we get our lightsabers? When do we get to shoot lightning?)" Reeko asked in rapid fire.

Jaden merely raised an amused eyebrow.

"You'll have combat and Force training in the mornings and with classes in the afternoon. At first you'll get training sabers before making your own later on," Rosh answered.

"(Revan already has one!)" Reeko pointed out. I wanted to strangle him.

"Oh really?" Jaden raised an eyebrow. "That was something you failed to mention."

"You didn't ask," I shrugged.

"And you didn't think it was important to tell us?" Rosh demanded.

"Life lesson 11: 'Never volunteer information. Ever,'" I replied coolly. They didn't want me here, so why did that matter?

"I see," Jaden regarded me cautiously, almost suspiciously. "As for lightning, that is something we won't teach you, at least for a long time."

"I suggest you get a goodnights rest tonight," Rosh added, "because tomorrow is going to the hardest day of your life. Welcome to hell."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Jedi Shuffleboard and Other Games

There was a rattling pounding on our door at an ungodly hour. "You have ten minutes to me us behind the Academy," Rosh's voice boomed. Groaning we started to get up and someone hit the lights, blinding us all. Rolling over and shaking my head, I looked up and froze.

Across the room from me, in all her naked glory, was Atris. She was stretched and then started rooting around her locker for the days clothes. I knew I ought to look away, but I was in shock. She was really cute with her firm, athletic body.

"Atris, what are you doing?!" Satori exploded from her bunk. "Put some clothes on!"

"That's what I'm doing," Atris flatly replied as she continued looking through her locker.

"Cover up while you're doing it," Satori slipped off her bunk. Atris shrugged, but slipped her bed sheet around her. Part of me was relieved and part was disappointed.

"And Revan," Satori slapped me back to reality, "look away."

"Yes ma'am," I sheepishly averted my eyes, rubbing the back of my head.

Ten minutes later, we were _all_ clothed and outside.

"Congratulations on getting here on time," Rosh glowered at us, arms crossed. We all glared at Sergeant Satori. "Now run ten laps around the Academy."

"That's it?" I smirked.

"Twenty," Rosh corrected. Now it was my turn to get the glares.

I shrugged and took off at a dead run, leaving the others in my dust. Somewhere in the distance I heard Jaden muttering something about how I couldn't keep up the pace. I just smiled and kept running. Forty minutes later, I skidded to stop in front of my masters, a little winded, but none the worse for wear.

"Impressive," Rosh admitted.

"I've been running away for most of my life, so I've gotten pretty fast," I shrugged.

It was another twenty minutes before Reeko and Salty pushy and shoving each other trying to come in first. They stopped and stared short when they saw me.

"How did you get done so fast?" Satori demanded as she staggered up behind them. "And where's Atris?"

"Here," she gasped as she nearly crawled up behind them.

"Not run much?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"Okay, back to business," Jaden cut in. "Today you begin Force training."

She led us over to the weirdest looking set up I had ever seen. There were five flat board-like things with a target on the far end. On our end were a stack of five disks.

"What is this?" I queried.

"We call it Jedi—," Rosh answered before giving me a weird look. "What's with the sword?"

"Life lesson 26," Satori supplied, giving me a glare.

"Huh?" Jaden questioned.

"Don't ask," Satori grumbled.

"Anyway," Rosh shook his head, "this is what we call Jedi Shuffleboard."

"Jedi Shuffleboard?" Satori looked quizzical.

"The goal is to get the disks into the target. The closer you get, the more points you get," he pointed to the target at the far end. There were five rings around a center bullseye labeled 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and the bullseye was 100.

"(So how does this help us with the Force?)" Reeko asked.

"You have to use the Force to move the disks," Jaden responded and with a wave of her hand placed the disk in the center of the bullseye.

"That's it?" Satori was incredulous.

"It's harder than you think," Jaden smirked. "Revan, you're rested; why don't you give it a try?"

I couldn't tell if they were testing me or taunting me, but I decided not to back down. With completely fake confidence, I walked up to the nearest shuffleboard and stared at the disks. Like a moron, I stuck out my hand like I had seen other Jedi do and scrunched my forehead in concentration. Nothing happened. Clearly I had no idea what I was doing.

"I don't know how," I admitted.

"There is no try, only do or do not," Rosh told me firmly.

"This isn't a question of trying," I shot back. "I _know_ I can do it. It's a question of _how_. I don't know how to do it."

Everyone stared at me in shock, which only made me feel like more of an idiot.

"Can't you hear the Force?" Jaden asked, looking dreadfully confused.

"I hear a lot of things," I retorted.

"Ah," Jaden looked at me sympathetically. "Rosh?"

"Right," the other Jedi nodded. "If you will come with me, we will begin," he motioned for the others to take their places.

"What do you hear?" Jaden asked.

I must have looked confused, because she clarified. "Close your eyes and concentrate on what you hear," she ordered.

"Okay," I said and closed my eyes, listening.

"What do you hear," Jaden asked again.

"I," I started, cocking my head. "I hear birds, some animals in the woods, the students, there's another group of students practicing around the corner, some insects, and…what's that?"

There was this weird buzzing sound all around me, like an electric conduit gone haywire. It was both faint and loud at the same time.

"That is the Force," Jaden told me. "Remember, it is an energy field. To most it is unnoticed background noise, but we can hear it. What you hear is the Force connection between every living thing. Now try to reach out and touch it."

I must have looked confused again because Jaden laughed softly. "You can hear it all around you, yes?" I nodded. "Then think of it like being in water. Feel the current and let it flow through you."

I took a deep breath and reached out with my hand, trying to touch the noise. The hair on my arms and neck began to stand up as I felt the energy surging through me. It wasn't a new feeling, exactly. It was more like becoming aware of the energy that had been flowing through me my whole life.

"Good," Jaden whispered. "Now push the disk."

Opening my eyes, I focused on the disk, feeling the energy coursing through me. Extending my palm, I felt the Force blast through me, shooting the first disk into a tree, embedding it. I looked back at Jaden and gave a sheepish smile.

"We'll work on control," she returned my smile. "But you've got the idea."

For the next twenty minutes, after retrieving my disk from the tree, I tried again more gently. My results were better, but still pretty scattered. One disk moved only about a foot; another flew off the board; and my third shot went long. Still, I managed get my last two shots inside the "10" circle.

"(Nice, but you've got a long way to catch up to her)," Reeko pointed a thumb over at Atris.

My jaw dropped. Atris had stacked all five of her disks on top of each other in the center of the bullseye. I wasn't the only one impressed as the others were staring in awe at our Arkanian classmate. Even Rosh and Jaden looked impressed.

"How? Where?" I gasped.

"I had a lot of time on my hands," Atris flatly replied. "So what's next?"

"Wait, what was the point of this?" Satori asked. She had scored 50 points.

"Excellent question," Jaden replied. "This is to get you familiar with your core Force powers."

"Core Force powers?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Telekinesis, telepathy, speed, and jumping," Atris answered for the masters. "Most Force powers are built off those."

"Where do you get all this?" I demanded.

"Very good answer," Jaden nodded. "And that's very correct. The point of this exercise was to get you used to using telekinesis and get a feel for accessing the Force in general."

"(So why are we moving this little disks? Shouldn't we be practicing with something much heavier?)" Reeko asked.

"Weight isn't important," Rosh answered. "The Force is what does the heavy work anyway. Now it is true that the stronger you are in the Force, the easier it is to lift heavy objects. However you are the one who controls where the object goes. Therefore the hard part is maintaining precision and control. Clearly it is something that some of you need work on," he directed his gaze at me.

"Lesson learned," I growled. "Can we move on now?"

"As you wish," Jaden looked amused. "Come with me."

They led us to a trench filled with water. Evenly spaced steps ran through the middle of the water with a high wall at the end. There was an entrance but no exit.

"And what's this?" I questioned, arms crossed.

"This is to give you practice on using speed," Rosh explained. "The only way through is on the steps."

"That's it?"

Rosh raised a warning eyebrow at me. "Not quite," he continued. "Each step is pressure sensitive to fire the blasters in the wall an eighth of a second after you step on it."

"WHAT?" all of shouted at once, even Atris. It was the most emotion I had ever seen out of her.

"To be frank, that's insane," I glared at my teachers. I was thinking that now would be a good time to bail.

"Don't panic," Rosh snapped. "They won't kill you. Though, they will give you a good chance to practice Force heal. And congratulations Revan, your first."

"I was first last time," I complained.

"Let's keep a good thing going," Rosh replied. "Now move."

Grumbling about how ridiculous unfair life was, I got at the beginning of the trench and stared down it.

"Alright," Jaden called. "Ready, set, go!"

Tapping into the Force, I shot forward. It was a fantastic feeling to feel the Force flowing through me as I flew into the trench faster than I had ever gone before. Around me, reality began to blur as I raced forward.

All happy feelings left me as soon as I touched the first stone. Immediately the precognition thing hit and I felt the blasters before they hit. Thankfully the blaster barely singed my calves thanks to my Force-hauling. Now the Force was boosted by one of the biggest adrenaline highs of my life.

Another bolt branded my leg so I poured more of the Force into me, willing myself to go faster. Around me time seemed to slow and the stone around me blurred. The bolts burned thankfully behind me as I raced for the exit. Unfortunately it was only when I reached the far wall that I realized there was a problem.

There was no exit.

"How do I get out of here?" I screamed.

"Jump," Rosh called back with a smile.

"Are you insane? That's twenty feet high!" I yelled back, ducking a few more red bolts.

"How long can you dodge?" Satori sneered.

"Not helping," I shot back as bolt singed my shoulder.

"Wasn't trying to," came the reply.

"Use the Force," Jaden suggested. "If it makes you go faster, it can make you go higher."

"That's twenty feet!"

"Height doesn't mean much to the Force," Jaden instructed.

"This is insane," I growled, gritting my teeth. Channeling the Force, I sprang upwards as high as I could.

Insane would be the best way to describe it. I wonder if this is what flying feels like. I soared toward the sky, far away from the painful blaster fire, easily clearing the wall by ten feet. Relaxing, I landed lightly on my feet.

"Easy," I smirked at my instructors.

"(That's not what it sounded like to me)," Reeko cackled.

"Shut up," I retorted. "Let's see you try."

Reeko flashed me a Rodian grin and took off for the trench while I tended to my wounds.

"This would be a good time to learn healing techniques," Jaden came up to me.

"Yeah, it would," I snorted, wincing as my legs and shoulder burned.

"Sit cross-legged, like this," she demonstrated. "Now close your eyes and reach out to the Force." I did as instructed, feeling the electric energy pulsating around me.

"Good," she continued. "Now focus on the areas that need healing. Let the Force wash through them."

Admittedly this sound a bit abstract and too poetic to be effective, but I did as I was told. Immediately I felt the pain ease, though my skin began to itch as the tissue began to rapidly regenerate. Within a few moments, I was as good as new.

"Excellent," Jaden beamed, clearly pleased with her teaching ability. "The more practice you get, the easier it will be to heal. Soon enough you'll get to the point that you can heal on the run. Of course for more serious injuries, you'll need to go into a healing trance, but this technique should get you through minor burns and wounds."

"Good to know," I stood and flexed. "But let's hope I don't get too much practice."

Jaden chuckled in response before being cut off by a Rodian-style shriek and splash as Reeko went down.

"I suppose I should go fish him out," I sighed and walked back to the trench.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: I show up my master

The alarm that shattered my peaceful night's sleep was almost painfully loud. On cue and sounding like a haunted choir, we groaned and sat up.

We were now about a month into our training. Overall it was going fairly well depending on what we were doing. Atris still ruled telekinesis; I swear she could thread a needle with her eyes closed. I had gotten my TK under control, for the most part. I could push and pull stuff without launching it into the stratosphere, though the more delicate tasks were still hit and miss.

On the flipside, I had the trench down pat. After a lifetime of running away from bodyguards, mercenaries, and regular old thugs, using the Force to dodge weapons fire was child's play. Surprisingly Salty was nearly my equal on that front. I guess growing up playing in the jungles of Ryloth will do that to you. Being a frighteningly limber and lithe Twilek didn't hurt either. Reeko and Satori had finally figured it out, though Atris still had trouble. More often than not we had to fish her out of the pond. On the bright side, she was about at a master level for healing.

We had picked up some other stuff along the way: healing trances, precognition, telepathy, meditation, and more. Our classes weren't half bad as we studied the history of the Jedi Order, sort of. The lessons only extended as far back as the Seventh Battle of Ruusan; after that things got "fuzzy" as our teacher put. We also studied philosophy and the sciences, as well as engineering. Satori, we found out was a master at engineering, as well as being an ace pilot. As for me, well let's just say the backseat is fine by me.

I was beginning to figure out the personalities of our team. Reeko was a goofball with a thing for plants; his desk looked like a jungle. He also had the attention span of a mynock, which struck me as contradictory. Discipline and focus were his biggest hurdles to overcome, but he was good for lightening the mood or getting something done fast.

Satori-Amd, the Iridonian, was the polar opposite. She was always serious, almost depressingly so. And irritatingly bossy too, though that helped keep Reeko from causing too much mischief. Satori and Reeko had an interesting relationship. They constantly harped on each other, but somehow that was good for them; he made her loosen up and she kept him focused. She was also a genius with machines; if I ever needed something fixed, she was the first person I called.

Saltanna, or Salty, was like a calmed down Reeko. The Twilek kept her mind on the brighter side of things, though not nearly as frivolous as the Rodian. Though she dressed in the sensual style of her people (which could be very uncomfortable at times), she wasn't nearly as flirty as other Twileks I've met. Though not as gifted in the Force as the rest of us, she made up for it with hard work. Few people were as dedicated as Saltanna. In addition to her hard work, she had a love for animals. It seemed like she always had a bird on her shoulder or a dog at her feet or some other critter around her.

Then there was Atris. She was the hardest to figure out of them all. The Arkanian rarely ate with us and even when she did, she was almost always silent. Even in training she said little, except to give an answer to a question posed by either Rosh or Jaden. And she _always_ had an answer and it was _always_ the right one. I have no idea how or where she got everything; she even surprised our Masters from time to time. Indeed I wondered if the Academy was actually teaching her anything.

I suppose her extensive knowledge came from all the books she read. When she wasn't training with us, Atris was usually off by herself reading or meditating. It wasn't so much that she disliked people; she just didn't seem comfortable around them.

But I had learned not to underestimate my diminutive classmate. She was easy to dismiss as a small girl, but on more than one occasion she had demonstrated just how powerful a Force user she was. There was a lot more to her than met the eye; I just wished I could get to find out what that was.

As for my Masters, they continued to be a weird conundrum. They rode me harder, in my opinion, than anyone else, never passing up a chance to humiliate me. At the same time they also took more time, especially Jaden, to teach the ways of the Force than the others. This pushing had made me stronger than the rest of my team. Still, I couldn't tell if they thought I was special or just trying to drive me away. I did know that I was tired of going to bed sore every night.

They were also gone a lot. I mean there was always one there, but there were few days when we had both Jaden and Rosh training us at the same time. Usually the other was gone on some kind of mission. That also made things a bit confusing as their styles were totally different. Jaden was much more gentle and refined while Rosh pushed us to the limit. Again, I was confused as to what they were going for.

Today, however, was going to be one of those rare days we got both of them. Jaden had been teaching us for the last three days while Rosh was mediating a dispute on Zeltros and had promised us something special when he got back. Well he had gotten back last night so we were a little excited.

"Let's go to breakfast," I told the rest of the gang as finished stretching out my kinks. Atris, finally, had gotten in the habit of not exposing herself to the rest of us. I didn't know whether to be thankful or disappointed.

Ten minutes later while we were eating (Atris joined us for breakfast), Jaden and Rosh came up with a big smile on their faces.

"Today," Rosh announced, "we are going to do something a little different. Instead of running laps around the temple, meet in the sparring ring in thirty minutes."

"(Does this mean we get to start lightsaber practice?)" Reeko's voice was practically trembling.

"We'll see," the male Jedi had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Though Revan I suggest you bring your lightsaber to class to do."

"Will do," I replied.

"See you there," the two Jedi walked away.

"(We get to use lightsabers! We get use lightsabers!)" Reeko was practically dancing.

"Pipe down bug-boy," Satori growled. She was especially grumpy in the morning. "You don't know that for sure."

"We are meeting in the practice—," I started. "Wait, since when do you know Rodian?"

"I've picked it up," Satori shrugged. "Wasn't Life Lesson 42 that languages are key to survival?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, stunned. "I didn't think you paid any attention to that."

"Of course," she snorted. "Every once in while you drop a good one in."

"Right," I returned to my previous train of thought. "Anyway, we're meeting in the sparring ring. What else could we be doing there?"

"Getting a demonstration," the Iridonian suggested.

"Maybe," Salty cut in. "But I'm with Revan; lightsaber training is the most likely thing. It's about time anyway."

Thirty minutes later the five of us gathered in an empty sparring ring where Jaden and Rosh were waiting.

"Did you bring your blade?" Jaden asked.

I pulled the metal cylinder from my belt and depressed the red button. With a snap-hiss the amethyst blade exploded to life and I went through a couple simple maneuvers.

"Cool," four voices chorused.

"You've got some practice," Rosh raised an eyebrow. "A demonstration, if you don't mind."

"Of course," I rolled my eyes. "Wouldn't want to waste another opportunity to humiliate you favorite punching bag, now would we?"

"Sarcasm aside," Rosh replied with an eye-roll of his own. "Take this saber," he tossed me a training lightsaber.

"What's wrong with mine?" I asked.

"It kills people," Rosh replied.

I holstered my blade and ignited the yellow training saber. "So who am I fighting? Satori?" I asked.

"No, me," Jaden smirked twirling a training blade of her own.

"Of course, silly me," I growled, rolling my eyes. "Are you sure you don't want me duel Skywalker first?" Once again, I was going to be humiliated. This was getting grating.

"Put down the sarcasm and put up your blade," Jaden ordered. Then she charged.

She swirled her blade in a quick and complex pattern that had me dizzy. Instinctively I brought my weapon up to defend her sharp attacks. Through some miracle of the Force, I managed hold off her first several moves. But I also knew I couldn't last much longer. I needed a strategy. I needed time. Reaching out to the Force I pushed her as hard as could, shoving the older Jedi back several paces, giving me a chance to compose myself.

Jaden was good; very good. Her moves were quick, but not lightning fast; strong but not overpowering, just a good balance that made it hard to defend against. But it also, I noted, left her defenses weaker too, which gave me an idea.

I raised my saber high and flashed Jaden an evil grin. Her advance faltered a half step and through Force I felt her confusion at my sudden burst of confidence. Taking advantage of her misstep, I exploded.

Channeling the Force, I launched myself forward in a flurry of acrobatic attacks. My master's eyes widened at my sudden offensive and she started to retreat. I relentlessly kept up my offensive, battering her defenses with swift attacks from every angle imaginable as I bounced around her.

Admittedly Master Korr was good, managing to block my first several barrages. However she was clearly not used to the style I was employing and it was only a matter of time before I broke through. Finally I batted her blade while simultaneously leaping over her head, pirouetting to land facing her back. As I absorbed the impact by dropping to my knees I swept my blade across her ankles.

Had it been my blade instead of the training saber, the move would have cut off her feet. This blade however simply knocked Jaden flat on her back, though it did singe her leggings. Before the Jedi could spring back to her feet, I placed the tip of my weapon a half inch from her neck.

"I believe this means I win," I growled, letting all of my frustration with being their whipping boy out. Meekly Jaden nodded and rolled out from under my blade and gingerly got to her feet.

"Who's next?" I demanded looking back at the rest of the team.

They were staring at me with slack jaws. Rosh in particular looked stunned. "How...? What…?" he rambled incoherently.

Admittedly this felt really good. For the last month the masters had made it their personal hobby to humiliate me at every turn possible. If there was ever a new training exercise, invariably they made me go first without explaining how to do it. Invariably I failed miserably, looking like a complete moron. It wasn't that I minded going first and looking like a fool every once in a while; someone had to. But every single time was a bit ridiculous.

To be fair, they did take special care to make sure that I understood whatever we trying to learn and they did seem to spend more time teaching me. Consistently after each failure Jaden or Rosh would take me aside and explain in detail what I did wrong and what I need to do right. This personal tutoring was something that others didn't get.

Still being embarrassed in front of my peers on a daily basis was infuriating and it felt really good to turn the tables on them. Instead of looking foolish, I looked like a genius and they looked stupid. After Jaden was a Jedi with sixteen years of experience and she had just been beaten by a novice.

"Who's next?" I repeated, brandishing my lightsaber.

"What was that?" Rosh finally managed to ask. "I've never seen a lightsaber used like that."

"Of course not," I smirked. "You only teach three styles here, Strong, Medium, and Fast. Effective, but overly-simplistic if you ask me. I prefer the Old Republic forms."

"If that wasn't Strong, Medium, or Fast, then what form was that?" Jaden limped over to Rosh. Apparently her ankle was bruised and slightly burned, though not as much as her pride I dare say.

"Ataru, fourth of the classic forms," I answered. "Also known as the Way of the Hawk-Bat, it emphasizes offense and intense, acrobatic attacks meant to either outmaneuver or out-batter an opponent."

"Where did you learn that?" Rosh looked both impressed and concerned.

"My lightsaber came with a training manual," I shrugged. "I have four data cards detailing four of the seven forms. They came with my blade and I've studied them since I could read. Admittedly couldn't quite do some of them until I learned how to use the Force. I used Ataru because Jaden was using the Medium style, which doesn't have a strong defense and thus is susceptible to an all-out assault."

"That and you had the element of surprise," Jaden added, her voice slightly testy. Clearly she was not pleased about being defeated by her student, which of course pleased me.

"Life lesson 8: never underestimate an opponent," I quoted with an impudent grin. "You'd think I'd own a lightsaber and not know how to use it?"

"Smart-ass," Jaden snapped.

"Okay everyone," Rosh ordered. "We'll begin you on the Medium style, which is the most basic. It's a balance of speed and power, not particularly fast or particularly strong. It makes for good offense, though as Revan so expertly demonstrated its defense can be a bit weak." Jaden let loose a quite snarl.

"Anyway," Rosh continued, ignoring Jaden. "This style emphasizes quick but powerful strokes, like this." Rosh executed several quick strikes at an imaginary target. "Now everyone take a saber and line up," he commanded. "Not you, Revan. Jaden's got some special training for you."

Rosh went over to my teammates and began schooling them in various Medium moves. Jaden beckoned me to come over to where she was standing.

"I want you to try that again," she demanded, her icy eyes boring into me.

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows. "Shouldn't I be over there?" I gestured back to the rest of the group with my thumb.

"That would be a waste of your and our time," Jaden scoffed. "Clearly you're past the kiddie stuff and already know the basics so teaching you that would be pointless. You're ready for the advanced class. Plus, you already know your own styles and so teaching you our styles wouldn't be wise. Speaking of which, how many styles do you know?"

"Four; well three," I answered. "I know Soresu, Ataru, and Niman, though some of the moves I needed the Force for. I'm best at Soresu. I also know about Juyo, but haven't come close to being able to actually use it."

"Juyo? Even I've heard of that," Jaden looked surprised. "That's the most complicated and aggressive form known to exist. If you could master that, then you might be the most formidable blade-wielder in the Galaxy, Skywalker included."

"Like I said I know about it but I don't know it," I added. "I have a datacard detailing it but never been able to execute the moves."

"Ever tried?" Jaden wondered.

"Once," I said. "Nearly cut off my head. Not a pleasant experience. But now that I have access to the Force, I might be able to pull it off."

"Hold off on trying," Jaden told me. "I need to talk to Skywalker about this, but I think you should pursue mastering it."

"In the meantime, what am I doing with you?" I questioned.

"You're skilled, but still sloppy," Jaden told me.

"Uh, I beat you so what does that say about you?" I flashed another grin.

"You are the most impertinent Jedi I've ever met," Jaden groaned in exasperation. "What that says about me is that I underestimated you; a mistake I assure you I won't repeat. That doesn't mean that you weren't sloppy. You may understand the moves, but you need to refine them and for that you need practice."

"In other words, I spar against you," I translated.

"Yep," Jaden nodded. "It wouldn't be any good for you against those kids; you'd destroy them in a heartbeat which would do neither of you any good. What you need is a challenge."

"Alright," I said, igniting the training saber I had been given. Jaden extended her hand and tossed the weapon out of my hand with the Force.

"No more kiddie stuff for you," she grinned, igniting one half of her staff.

I lit up my purple blade in response. "Bring it," I challenged with a defiant smirk.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Teamwork

Two weeks later I was taking a rare moment to relax in the Temple Garden, sitting in the crook of a tree reading an assignment for history class. Classes had been going well, though trying to cram so much new information into my head was giving me a headache. I had never gone to school, so much of what I had learned had been street knowledge, which unfortunately wasn't a class. In everything else I felt so behind.

Force and combat training had gone better after my victory over Jaden. The masters were less inclined to embarrass me. They still rode me hard which I had to admit, while irritating, was making me a pretty good Jedi. When it came to my Force skills, I still wasn't on Atris's level, but I could literally thread the needle.

When it came to combat training, I was tops by far. Of course I had a lot more practice than the others. But Jaden was right; my lightsaber technique was sloppy and needed to be tightened up. Under her intense tutelage, and more than a few burns I noted flexing my bandaged arms, I had cleaned up my form. In addition to Soresu, I had mastered Niman and Ataru. Still waiting on learning Juyo from Skywalker, though I would review the datacard frequently.

Below me I heard soft footsteps pad by. Glancing down I saw Atris walking quietly by. Now there was a mystery I would love to crack. She was smart, talented, not to mention beautiful.

And she was completely anti-social. I knew nothing about her besides she came from Arkania and seemed to know everything. Aside from occasional meals and training, she spent all of her time alone. Thus the gaps and now seemed like a good time to fill in the gaps.

I rolled out of the tree and dropped down behind her. "Hey, what's up?" I called.

Apparently the poor girl was in her own world because she shot about six feet in the air. Facing me, she smoothed out her white robes and straightened up.

"Oh," she said in her trademark monotone, "it's just you."

"Just me?" I gave her an impudent grin. "Who'd you expect?"

"I didn't know who it could be," Atris replied flatly.

"I think you're just happy to see me," I teased.

Atris merely raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting anyone to notice me," she replied and started to walk away.

"What are you up to?" I repeated, running after her.

"Reading," she responded.

"Right, I guess that's how you know so much," I said. "Is that what you're always doing instead of hanging out with us?"

"Books are…" Atris paused, looking for the right word, "easier than people."

"Maybe you should try hanging out with us more," I offered as we walked through the garden. "You know, get some practice. After all being a Jedi means having to deal with a lot of people."

A pained expression flashed across Atris's face. "I suppose," she admitted.

"Why are you so uncomfortable around people anyway?" I questioned. "If you don't mind, that is."

"I grew up alone," Atris answered. "My parents didn't want me around people as a kid."

"Why?"

"I don't really know," she shrugged. "They just didn't want me interacting with others outside my compound."

"Compound?" I cocked my head, focusing on the brooch around her neck. Something about it seemed familiar. "Wait, you're of the Katana House, Arkanian nobility, right?"

"Uh, yes," Atris looked stunned. "That's right. How did you know that? I didn't think you knew anything."

"I'll admit my galactic knowledge is a bit sparse, but OUCH," I mocked winced.

"I'm sorry," Atris flushed. "I didn't mean any offence, but it's just that in class and with the Force, it just seems that you don't know things you ought."

"I know what you mean," I flashed her a smirk. "Let's just say some of us didn't have time for school or books growing up."

"Oh," Atris replied in a small voice. "I forgot that you grew up alone on the streets."

"It's a different world than your ivory tower," I added, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. It wasn't that I resented Atris or the others for having a family and something resembling a stable childhood; I was truly happy for them. And while my book education might have been lacking, the streets had provided me with a different sort of education that left me light years ahead of them in more practical matters like combat and diplomacy (people skills). It's just that I sometimes wished I had a family to lean on like they did.

"I'm sorry," Atris apologized. "I'm terrible with people. I always say the wrong thing and offend people. This is why I like being alone. Books don't get offended and angry."

"You don't have to worry about that with me," I laughed. "Whatever you say to me, I've been offended worse by worse. Trust me on that. You don't want to know half the things I've been called in my life. You can say whatever you want around me."

"Thanks," Atris gave a soft smile. It dawned on me that was the first smile I had ever seen on her face. "I wish I was more like you," she said after a pause.

"Say what?" I exclaimed. "Why would you want to be an idiot like me when you're so smart?"

"You're not knowledgeable, but hardly stupid," Atris rebutted. "And becoming more knowledgeable by the day."

"I should hope so," I snorted. "But why would you want to be like me?"

"Because you're so good with people," she explained. "You always seem to know what people are thinking and what to say to them. And you always seem to know what to do. Like when we're doing combat training, it's like your two steps ahead of the rest of us."

"I've had a lot more practice," I commented dryly.

"I suppose," Atris acknowledged. "But for you it comes naturally. What you do almost by instinct the rest of us have to carefully think through. The Force, lightsaber techniques, even school, it all comes easy for you."

"But that stuff comes easy for you too," I pointed out.

"Only because I've been studying for most of my life," Atris replied. "And you're quickly closing the distance between us. You've mastered in weeks what took me years to learn. And in case you hadn't noticed, you're way ahead of the others when it comes to the Force and way, way ahead of all of us when it comes to a lightsaber. Why do you think our masters push you harder than the rest of us? It's because they need to challenge you and because you bear more responsibility than the rest of us."

"Huh?" I was confused. "What do you mean, 'more responsibility'?"

"You haven't noticed how we all follow your lead?" Atris cocked her head. "Everyone looks up to you; you're kind of our unofficial leader."

I reflected back on the past six weeks examining them with Atris's comments in mind. She was right, I decided.

"Oh joy," I growled. "That's one thing I don't need."

"Sorry," Atris apologized.

"It is what it is," I sighed. "And stop apologizing for everything. I told you, you can say whatever you want around me."

"So—. Okay," she flushed a little again. After a long pause, she awkwardly queried, "How did you know I was of the Katana House?"

"Oh, that," I mumbled. "I recognized the symbol on your brooch." I gestured to the pin holding her snow white cloak.

"You know the symbols of the Arkanian Houses?" Atris prodded.

"No, just that one," I replied.

"How?"

"Uh, well," I stammered. The answer was kind of uncomfortable. "I may or may not have stolen a shipment for your house about three years ago."

"You stole?" she seemed shocked.

"I've stolen lots of things," I told her. "Living on the streets, it's the only way to survive, especially on Nar Shaada. The only other way is to work for the Hutts which involves doing things a lot worse than stealing, trust me. I have two rules when it comes to stealing: steal only when I absolutely need to and only steal from those who can afford it."

"So what happened?" Atris questioned, sitting down on a rock.

I sat down beside her. "If I remember correctly, your family was trying to get some parts through the Yuuzhan Vong blockade by going through the Hutts. Their shipment docked near where I was living. When I saw the insignia, I did some research to find out who it was. When I found out it was your house, I did some snooping around. It was parts to an engine or something like that. All I know is that it was expensive and I needed money. So I snuck in the night before it was to leave and made off with a couple of crates. I sold them to a couple of junk shops for a lot of credits, which managed to keep me going for over a year and a half and managed to keep a couple refugee families safe."

"Oh," Atris said quietly. "At least it went to a good cause." Then she scrunched her nose and started chuckling. "Now I remember," she chortled softly. "They were parts to my father's landspeeder. He was furious when all he got were empty crates. That was the last time he ever dealt with the Hutts."

"A wise move," I gave her a smile. "Life lesson 26: never trust the Hutts."

"(You two are so cute together)" Reeko interrupted, chuckling in a way that only Rodians can.

"Reeko!" I snapped. Atris just blushed furiously. "What do you want?"

"(The masters have requested our presence in our rooms)" Reeko informed. "(Maybe they have a surprise party planned for us)"

"Doubtful," I grumbled. "Alright, we're on our way. Come on," I held out my hand to Atris.

Five minutes later we joined the rest of our merry band in our quarters where Jaden and Rosh were waiting for us.

"What's up?" I asked voice tight. Every time I saw them, something irritating always happened.

"You guys have two tests left before you'll be sent out into the field," Jaden informed. "The first test will be tomorrow morning. It is an obstacle course designed to test your abilities to problem solve, use the Force, and work together as a team. Your objective is to navigate the course, retrieve the flag at the end and all of you make it back in one piece."

"Sounds easy enough," Salty remarked. Inwardly I winced, knowing it was certainly harder than it sounded.

"We'll see," Jaden smirked. "You will leave for the drop site tomorrow morning at 0500."

"0500? Are you insane?" I exploded. "Is there any real point to waking us up at such an ungodly hour?"

"Because it's fun," Rosh commented.

"For who?" I snarled under my breath.

"Just be ready by 0500," Jaden ordered as she and Rosh turned for the exit.

"What is the second test?" I asked before the left.

"Focus on passing this one first," Jaden suggested with a smile.

Murderously early we all gathered in the hanger, awaiting our doom.

"Where are they?" Satori grumbled.

"Here," Rosh spoke up from behind us as he and Jaden walked up to us.

"You know if you're going to get us before the sun, the least you could do is be on time," I groused, still trying to wake up.

"We were delayed," Jaden said.

"Clearly," I snapped. "I hope it was worth it."

Jaden and Rosh exchanged a worried look. "Us too," Rosh mumbled.

That caught me a little off-guard. Usually Rosh or Jaden would fire back some snarky remark or tell me to shut up. Instead they just looked worried.

Jaden must have noticed my concern because she waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about it. For now focus on the test."

"What is the test exactly?" I questioned.

"Come," Rosh motioned to the transport. "We'll explain on the way."

The five of us followed our masters aboard the transport and strapped ourselves in. Rosh and Jaden stationed themselves at the front.

"As we mentioned to you yesterday," Rosh began, "this exercise is to test your abilities with the Force and, and this is very important, test your ability to work together as a team. Your objective is to retrieve this flag," he lit up a hologram depicting a blue flag firmly planted in a rock at the top of a hill, "and return with everyone. You will not pass your test unless each of you come back more or less in one piece."

"(Get the flag; get back: sounds easy enough)" Reeko commented, leaning back in his seat. I shot him a glare. Nothing with the Jedi was _ever_ easy.

"You must pass through five obstacles to reach your objective, each progressively more difficult than the previous," Rosh continued. "You will need to use your training and each other to defeat each challenge."

"Anything else?" I questioned.

"Yes," Jaden spoke up. "You need to choose a team leader, the person who will navigate the course, make the final call in case of an impasse, and bear responsibility for what happens."

"I nominate Revan," Satori suggested almost immediately to both my surprise and horror.

"(I agree)" Reeko nodded his green head.

"Me too," Salty flashed me a big grin.

"Aye," voted Atris.

"Well Revan?" Jaden gave me an amused look.

"Can I say no?" I questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Nope," Satori glared at me, which pretty much ended the debate.

"Oh goody," I slumped down in my seat.

"Here's the map of the course you are to navigate," Rosh handed me a datapad. "You only have one of these so take care of it."

As he handed me the pad, the ship slowed down and started to descend to the ground. Rosh flashed me an impudent grin, which I took as a bad sign.

"They're all yours now," he whispered in my ear. To the rest of the group he said, "This is where you get off. We'll see you on the flipside." The door slid open and the five of us hopped out into the middle of the Ossus jungle.

"So what's first, leader?" Satori demanded as the others huddled around me.

"Call me leader one more time and I'll chop off an arm," I snarled in return.

"Rosh said we all had to get back in one piece," Satori countered.

"He said more or less in one piece," I corrected.

"I suggest we begin," Atris butted in.

"Good point," I agreed. "According to this, we should take that path right there," I pointed to a small trail that led deeper into the jungle, "about a half click before we come to our first obstacle. Let's go single file: I'll take point, then Atris, Reeko, Salty, and then Satori if you could bring up the rear."

"Why should you take point?" Satori growled.

"Seriously?" I glared at her. "You make me be your leader and then start questioning my every decision? I'm taking point because I have the map and with Atris, we'll be able to sniff out any traps. I need you in the rear because next to me you're the best fighter on the team so we need you to watch our back."

"I guess that makes sense," the Iridonian mumbled.

"Alright, let's go," I motioned and headed for the trail with the others in tow.

Half a kilometer later we came to our first challenge. It was essentially a beefed-up version of the trench we encountered on our first day of training. The trench was longer, deeper, and the stepping stones were farther apart, but the set up was basically the same.

"(This is going to be easy)!" Reeko exclaimed and started forward.

"Wait!" I held him back. Picking up a stone, I tossed it towards the first stone, using the Force to land it. Instantly a barrage of a half dozen blaster bolts set on repeating mode exploded over the area.

"That's going to leave a lot of marks," Satori breathed. "Salty and you could probably make it across alright, but the rest of us are going to be in a world of hurt."

"I know, I know," I narrowed my eyes as I studied the trench. Picking up another rock I threw it on to the stone. Another five second burst of fire detonated over the stone.

"What are you thinking?" Atris studied me.

"Salty, do you have a lightsaber?" I questioned. The Twilek nodded, producing one of the training sabers. "How much blaster practice have you had?"

"A fair amount," she replied. "It's the most likely weapon we'll have to fight."

"Good," I took a deep breath. "Here's my plan: Salty, you and I are going to act as a shield while Satori you destroy the blasters in the wall."

"Uh, how?" the Iridonian asked.

"Use the Force," I suggested. "You're the mechanical genius of the group so do your thing. Bring the walls down if you have to."

"Will the three of us fit?" Salty wondered.

I scrutinized the stepping stones again. "I think so," I nodded slowly, "Though you and I are going to have to grip with our toes."

"(What about Atris and me?)" Reeko queried.

"Once the blasters are taken out, you can follow us," I told him. "Ready?" I asked Salty.

"As I'll ever be," she put on a brave smile and lit up her yellow blade.

With a snap-hiss I ignited my own. "On the count of three," I said. "One…Two…Three!"

Simultaneously we launched ourselves to the first stone, landing gently on the sides. If it wasn't for our Force-given reflexes, I doubt we would have survived. We certainly would have spent a significant time in the infirmary. But thanks to the Force, we managed to put our guards up and deflect the blaster bolts back into the stone wall.

"Any time Satori," I shouted back as I slipped into the Soresu form.

I was vaguely aware of the gentle thud as she landed between me and Salty. A moment later there was a resounding crunch as the blasters ceased firing.

"One down," I panted, "only twenty-nine to go."

"Shut up," Satori grumbled.

Nearly an hour later, Satori, Salty, and I stood panting on the far end of the pond. Reeko and a soaking wet Atris stumbled up to us. Atris was still struggling with the athletic requirements of Jedi training so we had to fish her out of the pond a couple of times. But we made it nonetheless. I was feeling good until I looked at the wall we had to scale.

"Son of a bitch," I swore.

The wall was a hundred feet high at least, which was at least three times the highest jump I'd ever pulled off and I was the best jumper in the group.

"(Well my parents did say I was part Wookie)" Reeko chortled.

"You are not," Satori grumbled.

"What are those?" Atris questioned, pointing to a series of indents evenly spaced about twenty feet apart up the wall.

"They look like sockets," Satori suggested as she studied them.

"Sockets for what?" I wondered aloud. I scanned the base of the cliff and spotted a stone that looked unusually cylindrical. "I wonder…Atris, can you fit this into the nearest socket?"

"Maybe," the Arkanian reached out with the Force and grabbed the stone. It rose in the air until she had it even with the first socket. Then with the precision of seamstress, she slid the stone beam into place. It was a perfect fit.

"Look around for any more pillars," I ordered the others. "There should be two more."

For about five minutes we scoured the grassy area for the other two beams that would be our ticket out. Salty and Reeko produced them, laying them at the base of the cliff.

"Alright Atris, you're on," I told her. She started to lift one of the stones, then dropped it, frowning.

"Something wrong?" I questioned.

"I can't fit them from here," she sighed. "I can't see the socket very well and so it'll be really hard to set it up right."

"What about from up there?" I suggested, pointing to the stone branch jutting out of the wall.

"Should be close enough," she studied the situation. "But I'll need someone to hang on to me. I'll need to concentrate everything on controlling the beam."

"Say no more," I volunteered a little more quickly than I intended, drawing a raised eyebrow from Salty and Satori, though they said nothing.

Gathering all of my strength and drawing on the Force, I propelled myself up and landed gently on the beam.

"Come on," I held out my hand waiting for Atris. She jumped as high as she could, coming a foot short of the beam but close enough for me to reach out and grab her, swing the Arkanian up onto the stone ledge. Atris swayed a little on the narrow rock and instinctively I wrapped my arms around her waist, steading the both of us.

For a long moment we stood there, my arms hugging her tightly. "You can let go now," she whispered to me.

"Uh, right," I loosened my grip on her. My stomach fluttered and I felt my face flush. "Hold on a sec," I told her, drawing my lightsaber. Igniting the blade, I cut a gash in the rock wall. After waiting for the rock to cool, I grabbed my makeshift handhold and grasped a handful of Atris's robes.

"Gotcha," I told her. "Now get the next beam into place."

"Good to know," she gave me a small smile over her shoulder. "Satori, could you lift the next beam up to me?"

"On it," the Iridonian called back. A moment later, the rock floated up before us. Through the Force I could feel Atris tense as she took possession of the stone.

"Got it," she called down through gritted teeth. She then turned and lifted the beam up and fitted it into its socket above us.

"Ready for the next one?" I smiled at her, grabbing her waist tightly with one arm. Without waiting for an answer, I launched us up to the next beam, eliciting a small scream from Atris.

It took us another half hour to get all of us to the top of the cliff, relaying the final beam from the ground to Salty on the first level to us at the second level.

"That was exciting," I took a deep breath as we all stood at the top.

"(I'm sure it was)" Reeko chortled, giving me a wry Rodian look.

"Shut up," I snapped.

"What's next?" Salty interjected before things could get really awkward.

"We follow the trail again for another kilometer," I pointed to the path the led back into the forest. "Let's go."

After the kilometer we found ourselves in front of a massive door that led into an arena-type building. The lever to open the door was naturally behind a grate out of reach.

"Atris, do your thing," I requested. The Arkanian reached out her hand and flipped the lever, opening the door into a huge open courtyard with another massive door on the other end.

"So we just go through it?" Salty scrunched her green forehead.

"No," I squinted. "It can't be that easy, but we might as well go on."

I hadn't taken more than three steps before the floor of the arena opened up and an eight foot metal robot emerged. Out of his right hand extended a meter-long yellow lightsaber blade.

"Like I said," I grumbled, "it couldn't be that easy."

"(So what now)?" Reeko asked.

I lit my blade and took a step forward. "I'll hold him off and you guys get the far side. Once you're there, I'll catch up."

"You'll hold him off by yourself?" Satori looked skeptical.

"You want to fight him?" I retorted. "Be my guest."

Satori glanced over the robot standing in our way. "On second thought, he's all yours," she amended.

"Good choice," I replied. "Wait until I engage him and then run like your life depends on it."

I strode forward to get the droid's attention. It didn't really have a head, but it moved to face me. I took another three steps forward and then raised my amethyst blade parallel to my head pointed straight at my opponent and extended my left hand in a Soresu stance. On cue the droid charged.

Soresu was my strongest form and I wasn't trying to kill it, just hold it off until we got through. It struck and I blocked, parrying away its powerful strikes easily. Through the Force I could sense my companions bolting for the door. Meanwhile I continued to defend against the droids strong attacks, slowly giving ground and moving around so that I was closer to the door.

_"Revan,"_ a voice sounded in my head.

It caught me so off guard that I nearly lost my arm. I retreated a few steps and regained my composure, batting away a few more attacks from my opponent.

_"Revan,"_ the voice came again. It sounded like…

_"Atris?"_ I thought back, sensing a presence touching my mind.

_"Good, I was worried you didn't recognize me,"_ she telepathically responded.

_"What do you want?"_ I demanded as I ducked under another slash. _"I'm kind of busy at the moment."_

_ "We can't get out,"_ she answered. Even her thoughts were monotone.

_"What do you mean?"_ I snapped as I parried a stab away taking another step back.

_"The door won't open and there is no lever to open it,"_ she explained. _"Therefore, we can't get out."_

"Naturally," I groused aloud to myself as I continued to defend.

Half of me fought and the other half of me scanned the arena for ideas. There wasn't much there: a few logs and broken pillars lying around, some grass and a couple of trees but that was pretty much it. Certainly nothing that provided a clue to this puzzle. The droid refocused me with a swing at my head. That's when the answer hit me: the doors would only open when the droid was defeated.

_"Tell everyone to hold on a minute,"_ I mentally told Atris. _"Let me take of this droid first."_

Pushing with the Force, I drove the droid back several paces, giving myself some breathing space. Raising my blade over my head, I switched to the Ataru style. I briefly considered Niman, but I need some hardcore offense. Then channeling the Force I charged. I had defeated Jaden in our first match and a couple of times since then so I figured this hunk of metal should be a cakewalk.

I was wrong.

I bounced all around the droid, striking with blinding speed at any perceived opening my opponent left me. But as I had switched tactics so had the droid, changing from the Strong to Fast style. It seemed to read my moves, countering each perfectly. As we continued battling I was painfully aware that the biggest drawback to Ataru was its lack of defense and that time was not my friend.

_"This test is designed to test your teamwork,"_ Rosh had told us.

It dawned on me that this droid had been specifically designed to defeat me, or at the very least fight me to a stalemate. Clearly Rosh and Jaden had known that I would be the one to take on the droid and made it so I couldn't beat it on my own. I had to use the help of my team.

Another idea formed in my mind. _"Atris, do you guys have blasters?"_ I called to my friend.

_"Yes,"_ she replied.

_"Get them ready,"_ I told them. _"I'll get you a clear shot. When you do, blast it."_

_"Anything else?"_ she asked clearly sensing something.

_"Yeah,"_ I replied, switching back to Soresu. _"If you guys shoot me, I'll fucking kill you."_

_"Uh, got it,"_ Atris responded awkwardly.

Once again I danced the dance of death with my metal opponent, carefully maneuvering around so that his back was facing my companions. It took a minute but I finally gave them a clear shot. A chorus of blaster shots sounded and the droid exploded in front of me. Immediately the door opened.

I met up with the rest of the group outside the arena breathing hard and soaked in sweat.

"You alright?" Atris looked concerned. "We didn't hit you, did we?"

"No, I'm just a little tired, that's all," I brushed off. "Let's head to the next challenge."

"Which is…" Satori asked.

"Half a click this way," I motioned back to our little trail. "Tally-ho and all that."

Five hundred meters later we found ourselves overlooking a chasm two hundred meters across with no bridge. The walls of the cliff were sheer and deep, nearly a hundred meters with a river running through the bottom. Since we didn't have any climbing equipment, scaling it wasn't an option. Not really anyway. Beside the cliff was an airspeeder, but it appeared to be broken down.

"Left or right, captain?" Salty queried.

"Straight," I answered, getting blank stares.

"Straight?" Satori asked for clarification.

"That's what the directions say," I frowned, studying the datapad again just to be sure. "Our path continues on the far side of this gully."

"So how do we get across?" Salty asked.

"(We could try flying)" Reeko suggested. Satori slapped him on the back of the head.

"Wait a minute, Reeko might be on to something," I said.

"He is?" Satori's jaw dropped.

"(I am)?" Reeko looked confused.

"That speeder," I pointed to the old looking craft. "Like the droid in the arena, nothing is here by accident. This test is a test not just of our abilities with the Force but our abilities to work together as a team, meaning relying on each other's strengths and abilities."

"Like your blade work and Atris's TK skill," Salty nodded her understanding.

"Exactly," I returned the nod. "Satori, can you fix it up?"

"I'll have to examine it first, but maybe," she stepped over to the speeder, scrutinizing it. "And I don't have tools or parts."

"Take a look and see what you can do," I requested.

She lifted the hood and poked around for a few minutes, muttering under her breath, though I couldn't tell if it was a good muttering or bad muttering. Finally she straightened up and looked at us.

"It's actually in much better shape that it looks," she informed us like a doctor giving a diagnosis. "The repulsor lifts are in fine shape, as is the engine itself. The only problem is that it is missing a power source."

"Can you do anything?" Salty questioned.

"I don't think…Wait, give me your blasters and lightsabers," she demanded.

"Why?" I asked.

"You tell me to fix the speeder and now you're going to question me?" she crossed her arms, dark eyes glinting.

"I just don't want you taking apart my blade," I protested.

"Fine, you keep yours," she rolled her eyes. "I suppose it would be best for one of us to be armed. Everyone else, hand 'em over."

"What are you going to do?" Atris asked as she surrendered her training blade and pistol.

"Finally miss know-it-all doesn't know something," Satori gloated. I glared at her. "My dear," Satori explained as she began disassembling the first blaster, "am going to rig a power supply from our weapons."

"Will it be enough?" I questioned.

"If my math is right, and it almost always is, it should be enough to get us across the canyon," she replied, zeroing in on her task.

For the next half hour, the four of us lazed about the edge of the chasm while Satori fiddled around with the speeder. At last she announced that she was finished.

"It isn't pretty," she said, "but it'll get the job done. Revan, Atris help me back it up a bit."

Using the Force, the three of us levitated the speeder, brushing off dirt and leaves, and moved it a ways down the path. On the front of the speeder was the bulky package that was the makeshift power supply Satori had rigged. When we had moved it back far enough, Satori flipped it on. The craft roared to life, repulsors and engines firing. Satori looked entirely too pleased with herself.

"I am a goddess," she proclaimed. "You may all bow at my feet."

"Get us across the canyon and then we'll see," I growled.

"Fine, fine," the Iridonian rolled her eyes. "Get in everyone. This has enough power to launch us over the canyon, though the landing might be a bit rough. Revan, Atris you're in front with me. I'll need you guys to do your Force thing in case something goes wrong."

"It'd better not," I warned.

"Have some faith in your goddess," she smirked, hopping in the driver's seat.

Somewhat reluctantly we piled in after her. If she was wrong, it was a very long fall to the ground. For her part, the Iridonian was grinning like a maniac. Clearly she was enjoying this far too much.

"Here we go!" she shouted over the engines and punched it.

My heart was pounding through my chest as we approached the edge and my knuckles went white as I gripped the dashboard. Satori laughed hysterically beside me as the trees and bushes morphed into one big green blur. Then we hit the edge.

I could feel my stomach crawl its way into my throat as we arced in a high free fall. Instinctively I squeezed my eyes tight shut, which didn't make things any better. This I knew, was how I was going to die.

With a lurch we slammed into the ground on the other side. I felt myself being tossed forward like a rag doll, driving my head against the dashboard.

"REVAN!" shouted Satori, jerking me back to reality.

I opened my eyes to see us hurtling towards a tree. I knew I was supposed to do something, but I wasn't quite sure what. My head throbbed and panic froze me.

Beside me Atris stretched out her hands to either side of her and channeling the Force gently slowed us to a halt three feet from the tree. Graceful as a cat she hoped out and smoothed out her white robes.

"Where next?" she asked in her monotone.

The rest of us stared at her in awe. Even I was impressed by her command of the Force. She had just stopped a heavy airspeeder carrying five people traveling several hundred kilometers an hour from crashing into a tree by herself and done it as calmly as she would put on her clothes (which is very calm as I have observed).

"Damn," Satori finally said for the rest of us.

"We should continue our quest," Atris shrugged.

"Uh, right," I mumbled as I checked the datapad, blinking out the stars that stilled danced in front of me. "The path should be right over there. We're about two kilometers from the flag, so our last two challenges should be just ahead." I looked around for the path. "This way," I motioned for the rest.

As we walked, Atris came up beside me. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

"I don't know what happened," I sighed. "I just froze. I really don't like flying, I guess. And I just panicked. Sorry for that, though it looks like you didn't need any help."

"Oh," Atris looked uncomfortable. "I meant your forehead. Its cut and you might have a concussion."

I felt like an idiot. "Right," I mumbled awkwardly. "I hit my head hard on the dashboard."

"Here, let me help," she stood on her tiptoes and gently pressed three fingers to my scalp. Instantly I felt the pain ease and my mind clear as she healed me with the Force.

"How's that?" she asked.

"Much better, thanks nurse," I tried flashing her a grin that didn't work. She returned me one of her soft smiles.

We had gone about half a click when suddenly Reeko shouted "(STOP!)"

Immediately we stopped and looked at him. The Rodian wore a terrified expression.

"(Nobody move)" he commanded, his voice deadly serious.

That got me worried. Reeko was serious; Reeko was never serious. Something was very wrong to make him act like this.

"(What is it)?" I asked in Rodian.

"(Stretch out with the Force and get your lightsaber ready)" Reeko responded.

I did as instructed, mentally stretching out over the meadow we were in. I could detect nothing particularly dangerous, though there was a sense of low-level malice permeating the field. Still I drew my weapon, but didn't activate it.

"(I don't understand, what is it)?" I asked again.

"(This field is full of Maladuern, a semi-sentient carnivorous plant)" Reeko explained. "(It hunts with its roots, sensing the changes is pressure and then strikes, poisoning its victims and then sucking the life out of them through its tendrils. A very gruesome, very painful way to die.)"

"(I can't sense anything)" I replied, frustrated as I tried to sense the malevolent plant in the field.

"(Maybe because you don't know what to look for)" Reeko suggested.

"(But you can, correct)?" I queried.

"(Yes)" nodded the Rodian.

"(Good, catch)" I tossed him my lightsaber. "(We have to go through so lead on.)"

Reeko looked surprised as he caught the hilt. "(Are you sure)?"

"(I'd rather not get eaten and you're the plant guy, so yeah, I'm sure)" I told him.

"(Uh, okay)" he looked unsure, but lit up the blade and took step forward.

Reeko was not a leader by nature, often lacking confidence in himself. He often covered it up with humor, but I could tell it was there. Having someone put his trust in him meant a lot. I could also tell it scared him to be responsible for all of us.

Walking close together, we followed the Rodian single file through the field. After about fifteen paces Reeko tensed and suddenly slashed down, intercepting a root that shot out. With a _hiss_ it fell to the ground and sizzled.

This repeated over and over again over the forty of the most stressful minutes of the day. Reeko led us carefully on a winding path that avoided the deadly flora. For the most part he was effective, though every few minutes he would suddenly sweep my blade across the ground, slicing off a lethal root. Finally we reached the woods at the far end and picked up the path again. With a great sigh of relief, Reeko deactivated my blade and handed the weapon back to me.

"(Good job)" I told him in Rodian.

He didn't answer but gave a slight smile and I could have sworn walked a little taller. That would be the most stressful test of the entire day.

It wasn't too much farther that we found ourselves in a narrow gorge. At the far end I could see the rock with the flag sticking out of it. We exchanged apprehensive looks and started in.

We hadn't gone more than five steps before a snarl stopped us cold. Looking ahead there was a huge horned Kath Hound, which looked a lot like a cow with razor sharp teeth. Still it didn't seem like much of a challenge. It barred our way with a growl.

"I got this," I smirked cockily, lighting by blade and starting towards the beast.

"Wait, stop!" Salty grabbed my shoulder.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow. "It's fairly straight forward; hound in the way, I kill said hound and we go on our merry way."

"No," Saltanna countered, looking sympathetically at the creature. "He's not angry; he's hurt."

I looked back at the hound and saw that she was right. He was favoring his right paw, gingerly lifting it up a little. It was caked in dried blood though what caused his injury I couldn't tell.

"So what do you want me to do? Give it a bone?" I questioned.

Salty just rolled her eyes. "Just let me talk to it, alright?" she replied.

Not waiting for an answer she walked forward to the beast. It snapped and snarled at her, but didn't advance. Salty held up her hand, whispering gently to the creature. I could feel the Force flowing from her, touching the mind of the hound, calming it. It snorted and growled, but laid down. Salty reached out and stroked the beast on the snout and poured more of the Force into her words.

She gently took the maimed paw in her hand and examined it. It looked like it had caught on a sharp stick or shard of metal and been ripped open. The hound tried to pull away but Salty held firm, whispering to it some more. Then she pressed three fingers to the wound which glowed with a faint white light. It was fascinating to watch the tissue reform and stitch together. Soon it was as good as new.

Salty let go and the hound pounded the ground with his healed appendage. Then it leaned forward and began licking her face.

"Stop it, stop it," she protested laughing, but stroked the creature behind the ears.

"Great job, can we pass?" I asked.

"I think so," Salty chuckled. "He's not going to hurt us."

I don't think the rest of us were entirely convinced. I know I wasn't and I was careful to keep the maximum possible distance between me and him. Saltanna seemed completely unperturbed, playfully rubbing his nose as she got passed. I took a deep sigh of relief as we approached the flag.

"(That was number five)" Reeko gloated. "(Let's go get the flag.)" He started running up the flag.

"Wait!" I called after him. There was no way it was this easy.

Reeko ignored me and came up to the flag. I waited for him to get electrocuted, but nothing happened. Maybe it was going to be this easy.

"(Got it)" Reeko yelled. With a grunt, he pulled on the pole.

Nothing happened.

He pulled again, straining, but still nothing happened.

"I got this," I called to the Rodian, igniting my lightsaber. "No one said anything about bring the flag back in one piece." I swung my blade at the base of the pole. The blade struck the pole and bounced off. I struck again and it bounced off again.

"So this is why people hate cortosis," I snapped as I studied the metal rod. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"Use the Force," Atris suggested. "This is a test on our ability to use the Force."

"Good idea," I nodded. I closed my eyes and let the Force take over my senses. When I opened my eyes, the world had changed. It shimmered and glowed, my friends looked green and the rock looked red. Around the base of the rock, five symbols glowed.

"You seeing what I'm seeing," I called.

"Yep," Satori nodded. "Push?"

"Push," I agreed.

Simultaneously the five of us pushed with the Force, sliding the previously invisible blocks inward. There was a click and the flag popped free. Reaching out with the Force I called the flag to my hand and gripped it tightly.

"Alright," I said, sighing deeply. "Let's go home."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Meeting the Master

"You made it back," Rosh congratulated as we stumbled out of the jungle to the rendezvous point. "And in record time too, I might add."

"Record time?" I queried. "It took us six hours."

"Indeed," Jaden beamed. "That would be two hours faster than the next closest team. Well done students."

Through the Force I could feel their pride washing off them like a shower. Clearly they were pleased with us, which was the first time they had shown real approval of us. Around me I could sense some of the weariness leave my companions; even I felt a little better by their praise.

"Get some rest," Rosh advised. "In two days you will begin your second and final test to become apprentices."

"What is it?" I couldn't resist asking.

"We will tell you this evening," Jaden replied as we boarded the transport. "For now clean up and get some rest."

Just as we were getting ourselves settled in the transport, Rosh and Jaden called me up to the front with them.

"Do you know why you were chosen as the leader?" Jaden asked me seriously.

"Atris mentioned something about how everyone seems to look up to me," I answered. "I guess it's true."

"But do you know why they do?" Rosh pressed.

"Because I understand people or something like that?" I replied, not entirely sure of the answer.

"It is because you are different than the rest," Jaden answered. Seeing my confused expression, she explained. "Satori, Reeko, Atris, and Saltanna all grew up in loving families, albeit a bit odd at times, but good families nonetheless."

"Whereas I grew up on the streets," I finished, following her logic.

"Exactly," she nodded. "You've been on your own your entire life, fighting for survival against those older, stronger, and bigger. It has made you tougher, wiser, and more mature than most your age. Your life has forced you to grow up faster than is normal; indeed it is unlikely that you ever had a childhood."

"You are a man among boys and that is why your peers look up to you," Rosh picked up for Jaden. "This will become even more apparent when you guys are out on missions in the real world."

"But there is a drawback," Jaden added.

"Isn't there always?" I sighed, leaning back.

"For much of your life, you have only had to look out for yourself," Jaden explained. "Now, for the first time, you have to look out for others in addition to yourself. That is a heavy responsibility that you are not used to. Remember that."

"I got everyone back in one piece, didn't I?" I pointed out.

"Only because we made it a requirement," Rosh countered. "If we hadn't, what would you have done?"

"Probably gone off on my own," I admitted.

"Which brings us to the next point," Jaden continued. "You've got to learn to trust your teammates."

"I let Reeko guide us through the Maladuern field, a nasty trick by the way," I defended myself.

"Only because you had no choice," Rosh countered. "What about the droid? How long did you spend fighting it by yourself before you were forced to let your teammates help? Who led the way through the trench? Out of the trench? Whose ideas did you follow? Yours or your teammates?"

Admittedly that analysis caught me off guard. I thought I had done rather well leading our band. Now I wasn't so sure.

"Well my ideas were the best," I defended. "And I am the most skilled person in our group so naturally I should take the lead."

"You might be the most skilled," Jaden cautioned, "but not always the best person for the job. Do not underestimate your teammates' abilities. Remember Atris at the canyon?"

My mind flashed back to the image of tiny Atris calmly stopping the crashing speeder and how once again I had underestimated her power.

"The task of a leader is not doing everything for everyone," Rosh explained. "It is protecting your charges and, more importantly, putting each member of your team in the best position to succeed. That means being aware of more than just yourself, but of your teammates as well."

"A good life lesson to add to your collection," Jaden put in with a small smile.

"Duly noted," I flatly replied. "I'll file it as Life Lesson 108: leadership is putting your teammates in the best position for them to succeed."

"And Life Lesson 109," Rosh suggested, "Trust your teammates."

"Sorry," I shook my head, leaning back against the seat, "but that would violate the most important life lesson."

"Which is?" Jaden cocked an eyebrow.

I felt the fatigue begin to wash over me and I closed my eyes.

"Life Lesson number 7," I answered sleepily. "Never trust anyone."

After a hearty supper and a good washing, Jaden and Rosh gathered us in our quarters.

"Congratulations again on passing your first test so excellently," Rosh grinned. "Now you are ready for your final test: constructing a lightsaber."

"(SWEET)!" Reeko exclaimed, jumping off his bunk.

Though not nearly as vocal, the rest of the group looked quite pleased with this. Even Satori grinned.

"Uh," I piped up, "what about me? I already have a lightsaber."

"True point," Jaden nodded. "That reminds me that you need to talk to Master Skywalker about your lightsaber training."

That made me feel awkward, especially when everyone stared at me.

"(Ohhh, you're in trouble)" Reeko chortled. I flicked a pillow at him with the Force.

"Before you get too excited," Rosh cautioned with an upraised hand, "this will be more difficult than the last test."

"How?" I questioned warily.

"You must find your own focusing crystal," Rosh explained. "Force crystals are grown in caves that have a strong connection to the Force. There are many such caves scattered across the galaxy, one particular one on Dantooine to which we are sending you."

"Dantooine?" I asked, getting a strange feeling of familiarity. "Why does it feel like I should know that place?"

"I don't know," Rosh shrugged. "There was Rebel base there during the Galactic Civil War, but other than that it is a fairly unimportant system. Farms, mostly."

"Strange," I shook my head. "I just have this feeling of déjà vu."

Rosh shrugged, though Jaden gave me a curious look.

"(Dantooine? Awesome)!" I could feel Reeko's excitement virtually sparking off of him.

"Calm down, son," I chided. "We're just going to another planet to pick up a few rocks."

"(No, you don't understand)" Reeko beamed. "(My parents' farm is on Dantooine. It's where I grew up.)"

"We know," Jaden cut in. "In fact we sent a message to them this afternoon informing them of your arrival. They are most excited to meet you."

"So why is this test harder?" I asked, bringing us back to the subject at hand.

"Because unlike the last one," Rosh answered, "there is no safety net."

"In this last test, we set everything up," Jaden expounded. "We designed and prepared all of the challenges you would face so that, barring sheer stupidity on your part, you would survive. In addition we were watching you the whole way so that if something went wrong, we could jump in and help you guys.

"That will not be the case this time," Jaden continued. "We will have no involvement. In fact we will not even accompany you on this assignment. All we will give you is the location of the cave. As for the rest, you will be on your own."

"We don't know what awaits you on Dantooine," Rosh added. "It very well could be that you walk in, pick up your crystal, and come home. Or you may have to fight through a legion of enemies. We don't know. But know this, whatever you do face will be real, legitimate threats. They will kill you if they can."

"Comforting," I grumbled.

"This is the life of a Jedi," Jaden replied. "And each of you knew this going in. Being a Jedi engenders great respect and carries great power, but it also means having a target on your back. There are many that hate the Jedi, even after all that they have done for the galaxy and they will take a shot at you if the get it."

"Remember that being a Jedi means being a peacekeeper, warrior, and humanitarian," Rosh put in. "We go to where the need, and thereby the danger, is the greatest. Ours is not a life of luxury and ease."

That description made bailing at Dantooine and moving on with my life an attractive idea, but I decided more or less against it. I'd stick it out until it was absolutely necessary to leave.

"Skippy," I muttered. "So we leave in two days?"

"Correct," Rosh nodded. "There will be no training until then. We want you guys to take the next two days to mediate and rest from your test."

We nodded our understanding.

"Revan, if you'll come with us," Jaden called to me. "Master Skywalker wishes to speak to you."

"Enter," a gentle voice called from inside the office.

Even before the doors slide open, I could feel his presence in the Force. It was rippling nexus of energy full of peace and light. It was almost overwhelming, the pure power this man had at his disposal. This could be none other than Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, galactic hero several times over.

The man himself was unimposing. He was of average height with sandy colored hair flecked with gray strands. His face was lined with the stress of have fought and won two massive and cataclysmic wars in his lifetime. He was wearing his typical black robes and studying a datapad carefully. Looking up, he inclined his head at.

"Greetings," he gave me a polite smile. "You must be Revan, the boy wonder with a lightsaber."

"I hold my own," I downplayed. "I was told you wanted to see me."

"Yes," the Jedi Master nodded. "First, may I see your weapon?"

With a shrug I unclipped my lightsaber and handed the weapon to Skywalker. He examined the hilt carefully before standing up and igniting the blade. Rotating it in his hand, he studied the construction and consistency.

"This is one of, if not the finest lightsaber I have ever seen," he marveled. "The hilt is of a design I've never come across before. Where did you get it?"

"I don't know," I replied. "My parents, at least I think my parents, left it for me when I was a small child. I've had it as long as I can remember."

"Remarkable," Skywalker deactivated the blade but continued to gaze at the hilt. "This weapon is ancient, the oldest lightsaber I've ever come across. I would guess well over 3000 years old."

"How in the galaxy do you know that?" I gaped.

"The craftsmanship is of a higher quality than anything I've seen from the Old Republic dating back a thousand years. The design of the hilt is unique too," Luke handed it back. "But more than that, it has a presence in the Force. Its history and age have been imprinted upon it. This blade has a story, a very special story."

"Got my curiosity aroused," I looked expectantly.

"Oh I can't see _what_ the story is," Skywalker shook his head. "Just that this blade has one. A powerful, very powerful Jedi crafted this long ago. It has seen many incredible things. A remarkable weapon, to be sure."

I looked at the lightsaber in my hand. It looked just the same as ever, a simple cylinder with four ridges running its length. Yet I could sense the aura of memory this blade stored. I felt a little uncomfortable holding such a piece of history in my hands.

"What else did you want to see me about?" I asked, returning the blade to my belt.

"Your lightsaber training has been unique because you already were versed in the old Order's styles. As such learning our styles would be counterproductive," Skywalker told me. "And it has come to my attention that you know the Juyo style."

"Know would be an overstatement," I replied. "More accurately, I know about it and know some of the moves, but I can't actually do it. The one time I tried nearly ended very badly."

"Jaden thinks it would be a good idea for you to pursue mastering it," the Jedi Master continued.

"I sense a 'but' coming," I sighed.

"But," Skywalker emphasized, "I disagree. Juyo is just too aggressive and leads too perilously close to the dark side to be learned, especially by one so young."

"You don't trust me," I surmised.

"When it comes to Juyo and the dark side, I don't trust any student," Skywalker clarified. "Frankly I don't know if I trust myself with this. The pull of the dark side is very strong and very seductive. A student with your lack of experience is very susceptible to that pull. It would be unwise to expose you to that."

"I think I could handle it," I shrugged.

"Possibly, though unlikely," Skywalker shook his head. "Even if you could, the risk is too great. And what would you use it for anyway? We are peacekeepers, not soldiers. Besides from what I hear, your skill is good enough to handle whatever is thrown at you anyway."

"I suppose," I sighed. I was kind of looking forward to trying Juyo.

"That said," Skywalker gave me a hint of a smile, "there is a special form of lightsaber combat I would like you to try. Have you ever heard of Jar'kai?"

"Nope," I shook my head, drawing a blank.

"It's the art of wielding two blades instead of one," Skywalker explained. "It is very difficult to master without killing yourself, but if you do, you will be nearly invincible."

"The staff is a variant of Jar'kai," Jaden cut in. I had forgotten that she and Rosh were there. "Since I use one, I can help teach you."

"We bring this up to you know because if you decide to become a Jar'kai user, you would need to construct an additional lightsaber," Skywalker continued. "Which means going on this trip would mean more than just sightseeing and babysitting."

I thought about it for a moment. "Jar'kai sounds like a fun challenge," I said, "let's do it."

"Excellent," Master Skywalker stood and shook my hand. "A pleasure to meet you Revan. A curious name, that. It sounds familiar."

"So I've been told," I rolled my eyes. "It was an honor to meet you."

"I see you becoming a great Force-wielder," Skywalker gave me a curious look. "Congratulations on passing the first test. I'm certain you need your rest."

"You could say that," I agreed. "Have a good evening, Master Skywalker."

"To you as well," he gave a short bow and we exited the office. Thus went my first meeting with the famed Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Dantooine

Life Lesson 109: if you are a Jedi and you get a weird feeling, that means something big and usually bad. As usual, I only figured this out in hindsight.

For the last two days I had this weird feeling and it was growing stronger and stronger. It wasn't a bad feeling necessarily; nor was it a good feeling. Just a feeling that there was something on Dantooine that was important. I just couldn't figure out what it was and it was driving me crazy.

"You awake?" Atris nudged me as the transport touched down.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm awake," I blinked my eyes and shook my head, trying to dispel the cobwebs.

"Are you okay?" she asked in her flat monotone.

"Yeah, fine," I shrugged. "Just not sleeping well."

"I've noticed," Atris commented. "We are here. Reeko's parents are waiting."

Stretching out the knots, I gathered my pack, which wasn't much, just a change of clothes, a datapad, and my vibroblade, and followed my team out into the painfully bright sunshine.

Once my pupils adjusted I found that we were standing in a star port. Several other transports and freighters were standing next to ours in a wide open area. Directly in front of us stood a tall administrative building. All around dozens of people were milling about, some travelers along with their friends and family; others were pilots and merchants packing up cargo or passengers. Looking beyond the port, I observed rolling hills and meadows as far as the eye could see.

"Great," I muttered under my breath. "More nature."

"(Reeko! Reeko!)" excited Rodian voices shouted out in the crowd.

Turning to the noise, I saw a pair of Rodian adults running towards us. Through the Force I felt a surge of excitement and joy surge through my teammate as he rushed towards his parents, joining together in a big, green group hug.

As I watched the family embrace, a flash of envy coursed through me. I had never known my parents; neither did I care to since they had abandoned me. But part of me did want a family: to be surrounded by people that loved me unconditionally, people I could just be myself around.

Shaking off my feelings, remembering that such negative emotions were not the Jedi way, I followed my team to where the Rodian family was gathered.

"(These are my parents Creenar and Saala)" he gestured to his father and mother respectively. "(Dad, mom, these are my teammates at the Academy. This is Saltanna)" he pointed to Salty.

"An honor to meet you," Salty bowed in typical Twilek formality.

"(Satori-Amd)" Reeko pointed to the gruff Iridonian.

"Your son is a real joy to have around," Satori offered a rare compliment, though I couldn't quite tell if she was being sarcastic or serious.

"(Atris of the Arkanian House of Katana)" the Rodian pointed to Atris.

"May the stars shine ever bright on your house," Atris inclined her head, touching her forehead with the three fingers of her right hand, a formal Arkanian gesture of respect and honor.

"(And this is our team leader, Revan)" Reeko pointed to me last.

"(A pleasure to meet you and our gratitude for letting us stay in your home)" I greeted, trying to be polite.

"(You speak Rodian)?" Creenar looked surprised.

"(Amongst other things)" I answered with a small smile. "(May we go?)"

"(Of course)" Creenar nodded. "(Follow me, please.)"

Creenar and Saala led us out of the space port to where a large speeder was parked. Piling us and our stuff in, we squished together and took off over the plains of the planet. As we drove, Creenar began to talk to us about Dantooine.

"(The soil is rich very rich here.)" he informed us. "(That, and steady weather patterns have made Dantooine one of the most ideal farming planets in the entire Republic.)"

"Didn't the Vong conquer Dantooine?" Satori asked over the engines.

"(True, but since Dantooine has been largely undeveloped, they left it much as it is.)" Creenar answered. "(As a result not much rebuilding was needed after war. In fact, other than the battlefield on the northwestern continent, the world is pretty much as it was before the Vong came. We haven't had any trouble getting farmers to come either. A lot of people are looking for a peaceful place to settle after all the horrors of the Yuuzhan Vong.)

"(In fact we had bigger problems before the war, being so close to what's left of the Empire.)" Creenar added. "(But since the Republic and the Empire are allies, more or less now, that has ceased to be a concern. The last year has been a boom year for Dantooine. Where you landed, the main city Khoonda has doubled its population.)"

"(Doesn't this increase in population bring problems)?" I asked, thinking of all the problems that Nar Shaada's dense population caused.

"(To a degree)" Creenar acknowledged. "(Dantooine is a place for people who are looking to get away, which unfortunately sometimes means people of a less than savory nature. We have our problems with mercenaries and smugglers. But it's mostly local stuff, your typical thug posturing and such. Unfortunately we don't have much in the way of local law enforcement, so things can get a little wild. But it isn't the mercenaries that you should be concerned about; it's the wildlife.)"

"Wildlife?" Salty asked excitedly, her dark eyes brightening.

"(Oh yes)" Creenar nodded. "(We've got more wildlife than we know what to do with. The Brith are mostly harmless, as long as they don't land on you, but the fields are full of wild Kath Hounds and Kinraths. The Hounds okay if you keep your distance, but the Kinraths are particularly nasty. I would suggest staying indoors after dark and never go wandering about without a blaster.)"

"(The animals have been acting strangely lately.)" Saala put in. "(They have become much more aggressive than is normal. Normally if you keep some space and ignore a hound, it'll ignore you. But now they seem to be actively hunting people, even coming into the fields. As for the Kinraths…They've become a special kind of nasty lately.)"

As someone who isn't a big fan of nature to begin with, that didn't exactly set me at ease. Normally I would have passed it off to some sort of biological or celestial cycle, but with my weird feelings, something told me something more was going on. Closing my eyes, I stretched out with the Force, trying to get a sense of the world.

For the most part, it was normal. The abundant life surrounding us made the Force practically hum with energy. It felt good, relaxing even to bathe in the flow of the Force. But the more I probed, the more I felt that something wasn't right. There was a twinge of coldness and malice almost imperceptibly wafting through. Maybe it was part of the natural cycle of things, predator and prey. But there was something about that seemed foreign and out of place. Shaking my head, I brought myself back to reality. I was a novice at this whole Force thing and there was so much I didn't know and understand. Maybe someone with more knowledge or experience could help me make sense of what I was feeling, but I sure as hell couldn't. For the first time that I could remember, I was actually _wishing_ that Jaden and/or Rosh were here.

I leaned back to enjoy the ride and casually glanced over at Atris. Her long silver-white hair was blowing in the wind, her face as emotionless as stone. Through the Force however, I could tell she was enjoying herself, racing across the landscape, wind in her hair. Then it hit me: Atris is a bookworm, maybe she could help me make heads or tails of what I was sensing. I made a mental note to speak to her later.

"(We're almost to our land.)" Creenar informed us a few minutes later. "(It's just through this gulley and to the left.)"

"What's that?" Salty asked, pointing to a rather unusual structure. It was a low mound covered in grass with a heavy stone entrance cut in on one side. Lining the path to the entrance was a series of stone pillars. It was clearly manmade.

"(Often wonder that myself.)" Creenar admitted. "(But I've never been able to figure it out. I've tried getting in a few times, but with no luck. The natives, those born here, tell me that that mound has always been here, longer than any of their families. But no one seems to know what it is. Probably a tomb of some kind from a long forgotten kingdom would be my guess.)"

As we sped past, something overwhelmingly compelling drew my gaze to the mound. I can't explain it other than the Force was exerting its will on me. Suddenly my vision started to flicker, like two Holonet channels competing for the same frequency. The images were changing so fast that I couldn't make out any of them. The sensory overload was starting to give me a headache, so I slumped in my seat, squeezing my eyes shut and rubbing my temples.

"Revan, are you alright?" Salty, the ever sympathetic one, called to me.

Forcing myself back to reality, I straightened up blinked my eyes open. Everything had returned to normal, though the distorted visions were still in the back of my head. The mound, along with its Force weirdness, was far behind us.

"I think so," I nodded at Salty. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened?" Satori asked. "You looked like you blacked out for a second."

"It's nothing," I waved off. "Just a little tired and my eyes needed a break."

"(Sorry if I'm boring you)" Creenar apologized.

"(No, it's not you)" I shook my head. "(Just haven't been sleeping well the last few days.)"

"(Well you should get a good night's rest tonight.)" Creenar's snout twitched in a Rodian smile. "(At our farm, we take care of our guests.)"

Creenar then went on to talk about some other agricultural feature of Dantooine. I retreated a little into myself, pondering what had just happened.

_"You're lying,"_ a familiar voice echoed in my head.

Turning my head to the left a little, I saw Atris staring blaster bolts into my head.

_"What are you talking about?"_ I returned telepathically as innocently as I could.

_"Something happened to you in the Force,"_ she retorted. _"Don't bother trying to deny it, I felt it. When we passed the mound, the Force suddenly moved around you. What happened?"_

_ "I don't know,"_ I answered truthfully. _"_Something _did happen, but I don't know what or understand what."_

_"Does this have anything to do with your uneasiness the last few days?"_ she pressed.

That caught me off-guard. I prided myself in being able to conceal my thoughts and emotions from others. How had she sensed that?

Atris must have sensed my surprise too because she promptly explained. _"I'm more observant that people give me credit for,"_ she said. _"Especially with you. I don't what it is about you, but we click. Unlike everyone else, it's easy to talk to you. I feel comfortable around you and I think that we've formed some sort of connection. So reading your thoughts and emotions is pretty easy."_

There were a lot of implications in what she was saying, some I wanted to explore and others not so much. But now was not the time.

_"Maybe it has something to do with that, maybe not,"_ I sighed through the Force. _"I don't know, Atris, I just don't know. That's what's frustrating me. We need to talk about this, but now isn't the time."_

_ "All of us or just you and me?"_ she queried.

I considered that for a moment. _"Just you and me,"_ I decided. _"No point stressing everybody over something that maybe nothing. It isn't like haven't got enough on our plates as it is."_

_"Very well,"_ the monotone reply echoed in my mind. A moment later I felt her presence withdraw a little, though I could tell that she was still keeping an eye on me.

"(Here we are)" Creenar announced, slowing the speeder as we approached a large house. "This is our humble home."

"Humble?" Satori gasped. "Reeko, you didn't tell us that you were rich. I might have been nicer if you had."

"(We're not rich)" Creenar laughed. "(This homestead was built, so I'm told, by a family called the Matales some 4000 years ago. It's been occupied on and off over the millennia since and now it's ours. Took a bit of fixing up, but we've got the farm running smoothly again.)" Pride washed off of him as he looked over his land.

"Cool," Salty smiled as she hoped out and started unloading her stuff.

"(When's supper?)" Reeko asked.

"(Your sister should have it just about done)" Saala informed.

"(Great)" Reeko beamed. "(Maasa is a great cook.)"

Fifteen minutes later we had gotten our stuff unloaded and were gathered around the dinner table. The dishes were typical Rodian which are frankly too complicated to describe and you probably don't want know. But I can tell you they were good.

"(Your Master Jaden said that—why do have your lightsaber at the table?)" Creenar crinkled his eyebrows.

"Life Lesson 26: never be unarmed," I quoted automatically.

"(Don't forget Life Lesson 17: no place is safe)" Reeko added.

"(Life Lesson?)" Maasa, Reeko's elder sister, asked me, confused.

"You know I've been meaning to ask about that," Satori added.

"It's something I've done since I was about eight," I explained leaning back. "I realized if I kept track of the various lessons I learned, I would be better able to deal with the challenges of living on Nar Shaada. The list has been growing ever since."

"(How many Life Lessons are there)?" Saala questioned.

"Currently 108," I answered (109 hadn't been added yet).

"How do you keep track of them all?" Salty asked.

"Repetitive use," I replied.

"(What's the first Life Lesson?)" Creenar questioned, curiosity etched on his face.

"'Never trust a Wookie to guard your lunch,'" I answered, eliciting a laugh from everyone at the table, except me.

"(It sounds like there is a story behind that)" Saala observed with a twinkle in her dark eyes.

"There is a story behind all my Life Lessons," I replied, trying to hide the twinge of pain at the memory. Even still I could feel Atris hard stare on me. "I have learned through my varied adventures. In a sense, you could say I've learned through stories."

"(Spoken like a man of wisdom)" Creenar nodded. "(Tell me, how old are you, Revan?)"

I shifted uncomfortably at all the personal questions directed at me, especially this question. "That is interesting question," I sighed. "I tell people I'm 16, but the truth is I don't really know. Sixteen is just the number that sticks in my head, so I go with that."

"(What of your parents?)" Saala questioned. "(Don't they know?)"

"My parents died when I was really little," I answered. "I don't even remember them."

"(You grew up alone? On the streets of _Nar Shaada_?)" Maasa gaped in awe.

I shrugged. "Creenar, you were saying something about Master Jaden?" I changed a subject that was getting far too personal.

"(Yes, she contacted me about your mission)" Creenar nodded. "(The cave you are looking for is on the other side of Khoonda, but it seems rather dangerous for such a simple thing as lightsaber crystals.)"

"What do you mean?" I cocked my head.

"(I'm no Jedi, but there's something strange about that cave)" Creenar explained. "(Kinraths breed there and they're extra vicious. Since that cave grows lightsaber crystals, the Force is probably influencing things there. Not to mention you have to get through the Kath Hounds. Their packs like to gather there. They seem drawn to it and are extra protective of it. Adventurous souls have tried going in there after the crystals. Not many make it out alive.)"

"(It's alright)" Reeko smiled. "(We have the beast whisper with us.)" He pointed his snout to Salty.

"I have a way with animals," she smiled shyly.

"(You'll need that and more)" Saala warned. "(This seems awfully dangerous for you young kids.)"

"Danger is part of being a Jedi," Satori replied. "We all knew that when we signed up."

"(But for a test?)" Saala was clearly concerned for her son.

"(It'll be fine, mom)" Reeko soothed. "(I'm certain we'll find ourselves in much more dangerous situations than this.)"

"(That isn't exactly reassuring)" Saala slumped a little in her chair.

"(Thank you for the meal and your hospitality)" I stood. "(But I think it is best if we get some rest before tomorrow.) We leave at dawn for the cave," I informed my teammates.

The rest of us stood and helped clear the table. Then we retired to our rooms.

I don't want to know what time it was; all I know is that it was cursedly early, as usual. Another vivid and disturbing dream had shattered my sleep, forcing me awake in a cold sweat like it had every night since it was announced we'd go to Dantooine. This time, however, I remembered the dream. Unfortunately it just added to my confusion.

_"The Force can show us many things: the past, the present, the future,"_ Rosh had instructed us when we talked about visions. That was fine, except I didn't know which one this was. I needed to think.

Slipping a cloak on over my shoulders and clipping my lightsaber to my belt, I stepped outside into the cool night. Walking a distance for the house, I settled down on a grassy knoll to meditate as I had been taught.

I slipped into the waves of the Force, replaying the vision in my mind to see if things would clear up. Yet try as I might, I couldn't get a definite sense of what I was seeing.

Suddenly a presence interrupted my trance.

"You ought to be in bed," I chided Atris as she approached from behind.

"I could say the same to you," she replied.

"Believe me, if could sleep, I would," I snorted. "Why are you up?"

"I could ask you the same question," Atris flatly replied.

"Are you going to do that all night?" I retorted, annoyed.

"I felt a disturbance in the Force around you and it woke me up," Atris explained. "Had another nightmare?"

"Another nightmare?" I repeated.

"You've been having them since we passed the obstacle course," Atris answered. "I've felt you in the Force at night and don't think I haven't noticed you being tired. Then there was the incident at the mound. And tonight was the strongest one yet. You said wanted to talk and this seems like as good a time as any."

I nodded. After what I had just seen, I really needed her knowledge and advice. She sat down beside me, hugging her knees to her chest.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," I replied. "That's why we need to talk. With all your knowledge, maybe, hopefully you can explain some of it."

"Let's start at the beginning," suggested Atris.

"After Rosh informed us that our final test was on Dantooine, I just kept having this funny feeling that there was something really important about this place that I should know. The problem is I can't figure out just what 'that' is," I told her.

"And that's when the nightmares started?" she surmised.

"I guess, yeah," I nodded. "That only made things worse because for the life of me I couldn't remember what they were. I would just wake up in a cold sweat with this sense of dread and urgency, but no matter how hard I'd tried, I just couldn't remember what I had dreamed."

"Until tonight," guessed Atris. Her ability to read me was uncannily frightening.

"Yeah, I remember tonight's dream," I nodded solemnly.

"What did you see?" she prompted.

"I have no idea," I exhaled sharply. "I was hoping that maybe you could tell me."

Atris raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"You know more about this stuff than me," I explained and then proceeded to tell her my dream.

"I wasn't in the scene, just watching it like I was watching the Holonet. There were two individuals standing in an old stone room, inside that mound we passed, I think," I said. "One was tall, well over two meters I'd say, with pasty white skin, bald head, and blue tattoos on his head. He wore a half cape and tight red clothes; he also had a lightsaber."

"And the other?"

"Hard to say," I strained to recall. "I couldn't even tell the gender. He, or she, was average human height and covered in thick black robes with the hood up. He/she wore a black and red mask."

"What were they doing?" Atris prodded.

"They were standing in front of a big stone door," I replayed the vision in my mind. "The tall one warned his friend that if they went through that there was no going back. The Jedi Council had forbidden exploring the place, apparently. He said the secrets of the Star Forge would be dangerous. The guy in black just shrugged him off and opened the door. They walked towards some sort of device that opened up and glowed. That's when I woke up."

Atris sat silently beside me and seemed to study a tree silhouetted against the two gleaming moons. I could sense her mind whirring through the Force.

"That's not what's really bothering you," she finally said. "What aren't you telling me?"

I swallowed as I remembered the tall one's words. "The tall guy called the one in black," I answered slowly, "he called him 'Revan'."

"So you think this vision was of your future?" she questioned. "That somehow you will defy the Jedi Council and look for this 'Star Forge' thingy?"

"It's more than that, Atris," I stood up suddenly. "You didn't feel it like I did. The dark side of the Force was thick in that place. _If_ that was me, then that means I'll fall to the dark side."

"And that frightens you, doesn't it?" Atris guessed.

"Yeah it does," I replied tightly. "I've paid enough attention in class to know that those who fall to the dark side don't end well. I may not be the most dedicated Jedi around, but I don't want to become some psychopathic Sith."

"Understandable," Atris agreed. "But this may not be a vision of the future and you may not be the Revan in the vision."

"Does this ring any bells?" I asked hopefully.

"Not really," the Arkanian admitted. "But also remember you are not the only Revan to be a Jedi."

"You mean that other guy?" I asked, remembering what she had told me the first day we met. "So this maybe a vision of the past?"

"Perhaps," Atris shrugged. "I don't know much about Revan beyond his name and that he wielded a purple lightsaber at one point so I can't say for sure. But consider this: can you picture yourself wearing a mask or clothes that the Revan in your vision was?"

"Not really, but the again I don't envision myself falling to the dark side either," I countered.

"Also, do you know anyone that fits this tall person's description?"

"Not yet," I replied.

"And perhaps not ever," Atris added. "This may not be about you."

"Then why did I get it?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Atris confessed. "This was your vision, not mine. All I can tell you is to give it time and things will become clear. If it is about the future, remember that such visions often are only clear in their fulfillment. Many have brought visions true by trying to _avoid_ them."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then it isn't and time will make that clear," Atris shrugged. "This much is certain though: whatever the meaning, your visions are important and at least some of the answers lie in those ruins. Before we leave, we ought to explore them."

"We?" I raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Surely one of your life lessons has taught you the value of the buddy system," Atris retorted.

"Was that sarcasm?" I asked amused.

"I'm figuring it out," she allowed a small smile. "You brought me into this and I'm going to help you see it through."

"Fair enough," I acquiesced secretly glad to have her along.

"Should we tell the others?" Atris questioned.

"No," I shook my head. "What would we tell them anyways? Revan's having strange visions but we have no idea what they mean?"

"Good point," she admitted.

"Come on," I lifted her to her feet. "Let's get some rest. We've got a different kind of cave to conquer in a few hours."


	9. Chapter 9

(Author's note: Satori is actually a Zabrak who happened to born on Iridonia. For some reason I thought Iridonians and Zabraks were essentially the same thing. Clearly I was mistaken.)

Chapter 9: The Crystal Cave

I got maybe an hour of sleep before being awoken by my alarm. I was tired and grumpy, but also knew we needed to get as early a start as possible. So I rolled out of bed, threw my clothes on and roused the others.

Creenar and Saala met us in the dining room for a quick breakfast and send off. After we ate and started gearing up, Creenar gave me a questioning look.

"(No blaster?)" he asked.

"(Nope)" I replied with a shake of my head. "(Life Lesson 5: never trust guns.)"

He said nothing else, though gave me a curious look, but I ignored it. Some questions I just couldn't answer. In less than an hour, about thirty minutes before sunrise, the five of us were packing in to Creenar's speeder with Satori at the wheel. The elder Rodian stopped me for a moment.

"(Take care of my son)" he requested.

"(I'll try my best sir, but your son is a capable Jedi)" I told him.

"(That I don't doubt)" Creenar agreed. "(But he follows you; they all do. Like it or not, it's on you. Don't lead them into places they can't follow.)"

"(I'll keep that in mind)" I responded carefully, hoping into the speeder.

As we rocket over the still-dark plains of Dantooine, I consider what the Rodian had just told me. It was uncomfortable being reminded of my semi-official status as team leader, especially by a non-Jedi. It was downright frightening to be told that they're lives were in my hand.

I scanned from Atris who was sitting silent beside me to Salty who was eagerly scanning for some critter to Satori and Reeko who were bickering about something up front. They were such children for lack of a better word. For them life was so simple still, as I had been reminded by watching Reeko and his parents. He still relied on them for sustenance, despite spending so much time at the Jedi Academy.

The rest I knew were little different. Satori talked to her uncle almost daily and Salty was always reading emails from her siblings on Ryloth. Even Atris, whose relationship with her parents could be best described as rocky, chatted with them once a week. Me? I worked on saber techniques, meditated on the Force, listened to intelligence reports, or wandered the grounds alone.

They were all so innocent too. Seeing the simple, quiet life that Reeko had grown up with made me simultaneously jealous of him and pity him. None of them had seen the underbelly of life like I had. They hadn't seen prostitutes and slaves and thieves and the rest. I had. I had lived and suffered with them.

And none of them, save Satori, had experienced death and even her from a distance. They hadn't seen people die in front of them. I had. I had even _killed_ some of them. For me, death was very real.

My teammates thought in terms of fun and exciting. They laughed and joked (well Atris didn't exactly laugh and joke, but she did her equivalent) about life. To them, all this Jedi stuff was fun.

I didn't. I thought about how it work back on Nar Shaada. I thought about the myriad of ways we could get killed and the people we'd have to work with. I thought about our supplies and enemies.

All this did was reinforce what I'd been told: I was the leader for a reason. I hated it. I didn't want to be responsible for these kids. I was used to being on my own; it was easier and safer. There was only one mouth to feed, only one back to watch. I could run when I needed to and never look back. But having these guys around was like having a ship tied to my ankles.

_"What's wrong?"_ Atris echoed in my mind.

_"Nothing,"_ I answered back sharply.

_"Remember I can tell when you're lying,"_ Atris chided.

This was something I absolutely did not want to discuss with her. _"It's nothing that concerns you or this mission or anything else,"_ I snapped. _"Now stay the hell out of my head."_

_"As you wish,"_ Atris replied quietly, though I could feel her hurt at the rejection through the Force. I felt bad for snapping at her, but I needed my privacy. Living with these guys 24/7 was bad enough without having one of them in my skull.

"Hey Revan, you awake back there?" Satori called back over the wind.

"Yeah, I'm here," I sat up. "We there?"

"Yep, just ahead," she replied. Gently decelerating the speeder, Satori brought us to us to halt in front of the cave.

"According to this, it should be just ahead," she said, looking carefully at the map.

"Okay—" I started.

"I feel it too," Atris acknowledge.

A sudden cold feeling swept over me as I began to get out of the speeder. I felt several non-sentient presences filled with anger and hunger surrounding us. It was still too dark for me to get a clear idea of what they were, but they were there.

"Everyone weapons," I commanded, pulling my blade from my belt and igniting it. "Satori, hit the lights."

Instantly the field was flooded with light, eliciting a series of howls and yelps from a dozen or so huge Kath Hounds. It only took them a moment to recover and they started stalking towards us, snarling and snapping.

"REVAN!" Satori yelped.

"Pick a target and aim," I answered quickly, raising my blade in an Ataru stance. Against these creatures, defense wouldn't be much use; I needed to attack.

"Fire!" I commanded.

Nothing happened.

"I know you guys are scared," I replied, muscles locked while the hounds got closer, "but I could really use your help right now." I coiled my muscles, ready to spring into action.

"Wait!" Salty called out. "Don't kill them!"

"I'm more concerned about us living than them," I retorted back. "Now start shooting!"

"But Revan," Salty wailed, "They're just doing what comes natural to them. They aren't evil. We can't just kill them for being hungry."

By now they had closed to less than five meters around me. I was running out of time and patience.

"Let me try calming them," she offered.

With a groan I took a step back, feeling the still-warm speeder pressing into my back. Through the Force I felt Saltanna try to reach out to the beasts and calm them. It took me a nanosecond to discern that it wasn't working.

Salty's attempt at Force controlling them must have drawn them like a magnet to her. The nearest Kath Hound ignored me and jumped straight for Salty. Reacting on impulse I sprang up towards the animal, slashing upward. My blade made contact with the hound just behind his forelegs as it swept up and through, cutting the creature in two. The two parts fell in a gooey mess around a screaming Salty. My teammates just stared in shock.

"I don't have time for this," I snarled and proceeded to go on a full-out offensive.

Springing off the speeder, I came down full force on the nearest hound, a big, horned one. My purple blade split his skull. Pitching forward, I rolled and scythed the saber through the legs of another, finishing it off with an upward slash through the neck.

I let the Force pour through me, driving my strokes and keeping me out of range of snapping jaws and biting claws. Time seemed to slow around me as I tore through the pack, decapitating one, bisecting another, simply stabbing a third.

Suddenly I was aware of one of the hounds breaking through my perimeter. I watched in horror as it streaked past me towards my frozen compatriots. I was too far away and out of position to do anything else. It leaped into the air, driving straight for Salty.

_Pew!_ A shot rang out.

The hound screamed as it died, body slamming the poor Twilek. With a weak yelp, Salty collapsed underneath the weight. Beside her, hands gripped so tight on the blaster I could see the knuckles turning white from where I was, stood a wide-eyed Satori. I gave her a short nod of approval and then whipped around to run through the final hound.

"All clear," I called, deactivating my blade and wiping the sweat off my forehead. "Let's go. Good shooting Satori."

"Thanks," she managed weakly as she staggered down from the speeder.

"I don't understand," wailed Saltanna. "Even Kath Hounds shouldn't be that aggressive. I should've been able to reach them. At the very least they should've run off."

"It is probably the cave," suggested Atris, even her voice was cracking slightly. I could see her tiny frame trembling. "The Force is created by life and feeds life. Here they are stronger and they will protect this place at all costs."

"Makes sense," I concurred. "Which means it's only going to get worse from here on in. Can I count on you guys not to freeze up? I'm not doing this alone." I got four nods in reply, which was less than convincing to be honest.

"Good enough," I sighed. "Alright I'll be in front and Satori, bring up the rear since you at least have a semblance of a back bone. Grab a light everyone and keep weapons ready." Falling into line, we dove into the blackness of the cave.

It took exactly five seconds for everything to go wrong.

The cave was full of life and most of it did not like us. Salty gave a squeak as something flew past her face. A large winged creature then slammed into me, nearly knocking me to the ground. Raising the light up, I illuminated a half dozen shyrwocks swarming around us.

"Knowing Force Lightning would really useful right about now," I commented. Through the Force, I could feel the tension and fear building in my teammates.

"Steady," I cautioned, dropping into Soresu. "Take aim…fire."

Four red bolts lit up the cave as my companions fired. Two struck home, though the other two went wide, scattering the flying reptiles.

I didn't particularly care if they hit or not. The point was to frighten the shyrwocks into doing something stupid, which they did. Two of them veered away from the blaster shots—right into my waiting blade. With two quick flicks of my wrist, they landed in pieces around me. That left just the last two.

Reeko, who must have gotten some practice growing up here, nailed one in the head. The shot scared his companion too close to me and I decapitated him with a firm stroke.

"Alright," I said straightening up. "It's not so bad when you aren't panicking like children."

"Condescension noted," Satori grumbled. "Can we keep going?"

We continued down the tunnel accompanied by the sound of pattering feet and a weird chirping. Even without the Force, I could have felt the tension in the group. At every new or particularly loud sound Atris would grab my arm tightly or Salty would give a little "eep." Reeko was more wide-eyed than normal, which I didn't think possible. Satori was constantly spinning around, nervously pointing her blaster everywhere, which was starting to make _me_ nervous.

"How can you stay so calm?" Atris whispered in my ear, digging her four fingers painfully into my bicep.

"I've been in worse situations than this," I shrugged, keeping my light focused on ahead of me.

"Worse than this?" she hissed in astonishment.

"Sure," I said. "I'd take Kath Hounds over Gamoreans any day."

"Gamoreans?" Atris questioned.

"Long story," I brushed off. "Gamoreans are—WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

Life Lesson 110: Nature is never too weird it can't get weirder.

In front of us were gathered three of the strangest creatures I have ever seen. They had these tan exoskeletons with six legs and a long leg-like appendage sticking out in front that I guess was the head. Pointing out of this was an evil-looking stinger.

"Kinraths," Salty supplied. "They live in caves or other dark places. They are giant insects that feed on mammals. Be careful, they've got a wicked toxin from that stinger."

"(By mammals, it wouldn't mean us?)" Reeko gulped behind me.

To answer, the nearest kinrath scurried towards me and struck with its stinger. I sidestepped the strike and with a down stroke of my lightsaber severed the stinger. It screamed in pain and backed up a few steps.

"I think that's a yes," Salty stared at the twitching appendage at my feet.

"I thought that was the head," I scrunched my forehead.

"Nope," the Twilek shook her head, "the head is in the body. This was just the stinger."

"Perfect," I sighed. "Any idea how to kill them?"

"Let's start with shooting them," Satori growled, stepping past me and firing at the nearest kinrath. The bolt struck home and the insect screeched in rage, but seemed to be okay.

"They have a very tough exoskeleton," Salty added. "It'll take a few shots to bring them down."

"Of course," I rolled my eyes. "Okay, here's the plan: I'll take out the stingers and you guys shoot them. Atris, use the Force to make sure they don't get close. Got it?"

With an affirmative nod, my companions readied themselves as I locked in on my next target. I feinted three steps in the kinrath's direction. On cue it charged towards me and struck out with its stinger. Pivoting on my left, I spun out of the way and cut off the stinger as I came back around.

Leaving that one, I ran towards the third one. Just as I reached it, the creature faced me and stabbed at me. Leaping over the stinger I slashed my blade through the neck. It reared up in pain and turned to face me, which gave my teammates a perfect shot. A shower of blaster fire dropped the smoldering carcass at my feet.

"Nice shooting," I complimented.

"Revan, we've got trouble," Salty told me, eyes closed.

"What do you sense?"

"There are dozens more in here," she answered. "This is a nest."

"Perfect," I sighed. "Come on, we can handle this. We're Jedi, remember?"

My companions gave me a grim, but determined nod. It was a simple gesture, but it showed me that they were getting their act together. Life Lesson 84 came to mind: courage is taught, not inherited.

We marched deeper into the cave. Another pack of kinraths attacked us. Repeating the same pattern as before, I took out the stingers while they blasted the insects away. It took us a couple of minutes, but soon enough we'd cleared them out. Deeper we continued.

For the next hour and a half this pattern of ambush, counterattack, and march continued as we explored the crystal cave, slowly clearing out the nest. Finally after dispatching another group of kinraths, Reeko spotted a glow up ahead.

"(What's that?)" he asked, point a long finger towards the light. "(Is that where the crystals are?)"

"Either that or we've managed to work our way in circles back to the exit," Satori grumbled.

"It's the crystals," Atris confirmed, breathing deeply. "I can feel the Force flowing from there like a spring."

"Let's go," I waved forward.

We took three steps when the mother of all kinraths, literally, stepped into the doorway to the chamber. She was three times the size of any other kinrath and twice our size. She hissed at us and a dozen of her children crawled out and swarmed towards us.

"I hate nature," I snarled as the insects scampered towards us.

"Any bright ideas?" Satori asked.

"Yeah," I snapped back. "Ask Jaden and Rosh to teach us lightening because that would very useful right now."

"Any ideas that will actually help us," Satori clarified.

I scanned the passage we were in. There was no way I could take out the stingers fast enough to give my teammates free shots, which is assuming that I didn't get stung myself. That's when my eyes alighted on the stalactite columns in the passage and a crazy idea struck me. Locking my blade on, I flicked the weapon in a wide arc, slicing through the soft stone. After the lightsaber came back to me, I threw it again cutting the column bases.

"Okay everyone," I called out. "Use the Force to throw these chunks of rocks at the kinraths. It should smash them."

"Won't that bring down the cave?" Atris questioned.

I hadn't thought of that. "No time to debate it," I answered. "Let's just hope it doesn't."

Reaching out the nearest column piece, I shoved it with the Force into the crowd of insects with everything I had. It shot out like a cannon, slamming into the kinraths and squishing three of them flat. Beside me, my teammates followed my lead, smashing kinraths left and right. The cave roof buckled slightly, but held.

Watching, the hive queen bellowed in rage as we finished off the last of them. Enraged, she charged towards us. Blade lit, I jumped forward to meet her. She was mine.

She stabbed her stinger down at me and I pitched out of the way. In response she swung the appendage towards me. That was just what I wanted her to do. Taking a giant step back, I gripped the hilt with both hands and swung my blade with everything I had. It sliced clean through, dropping the massive stinger in a smoking mess at my feet.

That infuriated her even more. Rearing for a second, she brought her full weight down on me. I hopped back again, but this time she was prepared for that. With a flick of her right foreleg, she caught my body in midair and slammed me into the far wall.

The wind exploded out of my lungs and constellations danced in front of my vision as my head cracked against the stone wall. Somewhere along the way, my lightsaber had fallen from my grip. I lay there stunned.

Adrenaline brought me quickly back to reality as the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was that same foreleg come driving down to impale me. With Force-enhanced reflexes, I rolled out of the way just in time. Then the left foreleg reared up to shish-kebob me. I reached for lightsaber, only to realize it was a good thirty feet away. I was screwed.

Suddenly the kinrath was launched to the ceiling, connecting with a resound thump. Atris materialized in front of me, holding the creature in place. Not questioning the situation, I staggered out away and with the Force retrieved my blade.

The kinrath howled in rage as Atris held her there. I could feel something akin to rage pouring off of her, which frightened me. Releasing the queen for a moment, Atris grabbed her again and threw the creature down the passage, slamming it through stone.

Atris let the queen go and the kinrath drunkenly stumbled down the corridor to us. At first I thought Atris was finished, but with a wicked glare in her white eyes, she grasped the queen with the Force again. The queen squealed in terror as the tiny Arkanian flung her across the corridor, impaling her on a stalactite with a sickening crunch.

"Damn," Satori said as we all stared at her in astonishment.

"(Remind me never to get on your bad side)" Reeko added. "(You're scarier than Satori.)"

"Nobody messes with my friends," she said fiercely.

"Right," I shook my head again. "Let's see what we've got here."

The five of us walked into the glowing chamber. Hundreds of crystals were growing around us, radiating Force energy and illuminating the room is bright, multi-colored glow. Some were barely the size of my thumb and others grew all the way to the ceiling. They glowed blue, red, green, yellow, silver, purple, and varying shades in between.

"Whoa," Satori stared in awe.

"How do we know which is ours?" Atris practically asked as she stared around the chamber. "There are so many."

"According to our instructions," I pulled up the datapad. "We are supposed to mediate and let the Force guide us to the right crystal."

"(Aw, I hate meditating)" Reeko complained.

I chuckled at that. The Rodian hated sitting still.

"(You can do it)" I encouraged. "I guess we get started."

Finding a spot, I sat down with my legs crossed, closed my eyes and let the Force wash through me.

Life Lesson 111: Force visions are the Force's way of screwing with your head. Seriously, that is the only reason they are ever given.

I was swept away from this world and found myself at the bottom of an ocean. Giant fish with very big, very sharp teeth were swimming around me and I approached a strange device, exactly like the one I'd seen in my dream. It opened up to reveal a sort of star map, though I couldn't read.

Instantly the seen changed. I was surrounded by trees and facing a man with a lightsaber. It glowed red. Then I was at another star map in the forest.

Again, I was pulled away. I was now walking through a desert valley flanked with colossal statues whose features had been weathered away. Ancient doors were built into the cliffs. I found myself being swept in the last door on the right. I traveled all the way to the back of the tomb to where another device was opening for me.

As soon as it opened I was standing on a sandy desert plain as far as the eye could see. Twin suns burned painfully bright as I trod towards a rocky outcropping with a cave. Greeting me at the entrance of the cave was a woman wielding another red lightsaber. Suddenly I was standing at the back of the cave, opening a fourth device.

The scene changed again. I was on a tropical world looking at the remains of an ancient ziggurat. It had long since been destroyed. Standing in the ruins, as if waiting for me, were the man and woman. Their lightsabers were lit, but not raised. It was like they were beckoning me to join them.

Then everything melted away and I found myself standing in a room of pure white. Approaching me was the person from my first vision. The person was clad in all black, except for red gauntlets, a strip of red cloth that hung down from the belt, and a bronze-colored breastplate. Two lightsabers hung from the belt. Covering the face was a black and red mask. The figure stopped in front of me, reached up and removed the mask. I nearly had a heart attack.

He was me.

Not me exactly, but the resemblance was unmistakable. The same dark hair, same dark eyes. He was older than me, more tired, more life-worn. Power radiated off of him like I had never felt before. Even Master Skywalker didn't have this kind of power. It wasn't just the Force I felt, but his confidence and command.

"Who are you?" I finally asked.

"Who I am is not important," the man replied, "My message is."

"Okay then, what's the message?" I absently crossed my arms.

"Follow in my footsteps," he told me. "Finish what I began."

"That makes no sense," I retorted.

"May the Force be with you," he said as his image began to fade, "my heir."

With that everything vanished and I felt myself being shaken.

"Revan! Revan!" Satori was yelling. "You okay?"

"Huh? What?" I blinked my eyes open and looked around the cave. My teammates were staring at me, worry etched on their faces. "You guys got your crystals already?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Already?" Satori raised an eyebrow. "Revan, we got those _six hours ago_."

"WHAT?!" I exploded. "I've been sitting here for over six hours?"

"Something like that," the Zabrak nodded. "You've been like a statue. We tried everything to get you to snap out of it."

I reached and felt my wet hair. "Everything?" I asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"(Everything)" Reeko confirmed with a sick look on his face.

"I'm not going to ask," I shuddered.

"Get your crystal and let's get out of here," Satori said. "This place gives me the creeps."

I stiffly stood up, my legs rebelling at the movement and scanned the room. I have no idea how, but somehow I knew exactly where to look. Walking over the spot, I reached into a crystal clump and felt my hand grasp a crystal the warmed to my touch. When I withdrew my hand, in it was a glowing green crystal.

"Alright, let's go," I said, pocketing the crystal.

As we backtracked out of the cave, Atris came up beside me.

"_Another vision?"_ she telepathically asked.

_"Yeah,"_ I replied.

_"What was it?"_

_ "Weird,"_ I mentally sighed. _"I don't understand _anything_ I saw."_

_"Talk later?"_ Atris guessed.

_"Yeah, I think that'd be best,"_ I nodded. _"This much I do know. We really need to get into those ruins."_

_"Agreed,"_ Atris returned the nod.

_"What color did you get?"_ I queried, changing the topic.

_"Silver,"_ she replied and then withdrew from my mind.

"Cool," I whispered to her.

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000

It took us about an hour to get back to Reeko's farm. After we got the crystals, the critters largely left us alone. Either that was because the Force told them to stay away or we'd killed most of them. My guess was the latter.

"(Something's not right)" Reeko said from the front seat.

"(What do you mean?)" I asked in Rodian.

"(My front door is open)" he said. "(We _never_ leave to door opened.)

He didn't wait for the speeder to stop before he leapt off and sprinted to the house.

"REEKO!" Satori yelled after the running Rodian. She slowed the speeder to a stop and the four of us jumped out and ran after Reeko.

It took me five seconds before I realized something was seriously wrong.

"Oh shit," I swore as I stopped by the door.

"What is it?" Atris asked.

"Carbon scoring," I pointed to a burn mark by the door. "Somebody attacked them."

Just then Reeko came up to us panting, fear radiating off of him in the Force.

"(Guys)" he gasped. "(My family…They're gone.)"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Insanity unleashed

After a ten minute investigation, what had happened was pretty clear to me. It was the "why" and the "who" that had me stumped.

"What are you thinking?" Atris came up to me.

"Huh?"

"You've got your arms crossed and you're scowling at nothing, which means that you've got something on your mind," Atris explained.

"How well you know me is scary," I remarked. "Yeah, I was thinking that this is your classic abduction."

"How do you know that?" Atris cocked her head.

"There's no blood or other organic material," I explained, "Yet there's tons of blaster scorch marks everywhere. The door is broken down, tables are over turned, that pot is shattered. Even the droid is messed up. Yet nothing is taken. The credits are still here, as is the jewelry, the speeder bikes, the expensive equipment, everything."

"What's your point?"

"Whoever broken in wanted to make it very clear this place was broken into," I summed up to Atris. "Thieves disturb as little as possible. The less the target suspects something is amiss, the longer it will take for them to realize what's happened and thus give the thief more time."

"You would know," Atris pointed out gruffly. Apparently my background still didn't quite sit well with her.

"Murderers, well, they tend to leave bodies, of which there are none," I added, ignoring the jab. "Look, the point is that only kidnappers leave a ton of evidence behind because they _want_ you to know that something's wrong."

"How do you know all this?" Atris asked.

"It's a long story," I sighed. "A couple of years ago I was involved in a kidnapping. I was desperate and needed the credits and a Quarren named Squishi, and yes that seriously was his name, wanted to kidnap the daughter of a rival gang leader to send a message and was hiring muscle. I signed on."

_"You kidnapped a girl?"_ the incredulity in Atris's was unmistakable. "What happened?"

"After we took her, I had a change of heart and bailed," I told her. "I then decided to come back and free her but…"

"You were too late?" guessed Atris.

"Yeah," I nodded sadly. "They'd already killed her and started a massive gang war that wiped out a tenth of the refugee sector."

"How could you have…" she started.

"I'm a survivor not a saint," I snapped, glaring at her. "Atris, I didn't have the charmed childhood you did. In fact it's debatable on whether or not I _had_ a childhood at all. You have no idea what growing up on that little piece of hell was like and so you have no right to judge me. Yeah, surviving meant crossing moral lines sometimes, a lot of times, so I did what I had to."

Atris stared wide-eyed at me. It was the first time she had seen me really lash out at anyone, especially her. "I'm sorry," she stuttered out an apology. "You are right; I am in no place to judge."

"It's alright," I sighed, trying to take the edge out of my voice. "You just hit a particularly sore memory. I've done a lot of shady things in my life, but that is the one memory that truly haunts me. I may not have smothered her, but that little girl and the rest of those people are dead partly because of me."

"How old was she?" Atris questioned.

"Eight," I answered. "I helped kill an eight year old child."

"It weighs heavy on you, doesn't it?" Atris cocked her head.

I just nodded in reply.

"You carry a heavy burden, caring for us," Atris pointed out. "Don't carry the weight of the dead. Besides, we have Reeko's family to worry about."

"Right," I nodded, shaking out the unpleasant memories. "What I learned from that is that there are essentially two types of kidnappings: one for slaves and the other for ransom or to make a point."

"Isn't that three?" Atris tried to joke.

"One day I swear to the Force I will teach you humor," I rolled my eyes. "Ransom and point-making are essentially the same type of kidnapping, just a different payout. They have the same MO, which is big, flashy, showy take downs that make sure everyone knows what happened. And that's what happened here."

"So this is a ransom or point-making kidnapping?" Atris questioned.

"I don't know," I crossed my arms and looked around, studying the entryway. "It has all the earmarks of a classic abduction, but it's the motive that I can't figure out. I mean, Creenar is just a farmer. Unless there's something I don't know about, I just can't see a motive. Satori, how's Reeko?" I called to the Zabrak.

"Holding it together," she called back, her arm around the distraught Rodian, which was a surprising sight to say the least. "Barely, anyway," she added.

"Reeko, could you answer a few questions?" I asked gently. "And Satori, have you notified the local authorities?"

"Khoonda said a couple of officers will be here in an hour to take a statement," Satori reported. "Reeko, you up to talk to Revan?"

"Yeah," he stood and came up to me. The change in him was unmistakable. His normally cheerful demeanor was gone, replaced by a very shaken Rodian. His steps were unsure and his long hands were shaking. The big bug eyes were darker than usual. Reeko was clearly not himself.

"(How you doing bud)?" I asked as gently as possible.

"(My parents and sister have just been kidnapped and we don't know who or why)" he ground out, struggling to keep his voice under control. "(How do you think I'm doing)?"

"(Dumb question, I get it)" I admitted.

More in the Force than anything else I felt Satori's presence hovering over me, uncomfortably close. She was furious, that much was obvious. It was radiating off of her in waves ominously reminiscent of the Dark Side of the Force. My guess was she needed something to do.

"Satori," I turned to her, "could you fix up that droid? He might have seen something or recorded something we could use."

"Yeah, right on it," she growled and stomped towards the mess that used to be the family's protocol droid.

"(Was your dad heavily involved in local politics)?" I returned my attention to the Rodian.

"(Not really)" Reeko shook his head. "(I mean he would help out and stuff, but he never ran for any office or openly campaigned for anyone. Just good, normal citizen stuff, you know.)"

I didn't really, but pretended I did. I was guessing that "good citizen stuff" meant something completely different here than on Nar Shaada.

"(Did he have any enemies or anyone that would want to ruin him)?" I continued.

"(No, no one)" somberly replied the Rodian. "(My family is successful enough to get along well but we're certainly not the richest either. There are a lot farms here that are more attractive. My family hasn't told me about any problems.)"

"(I didn't think so)" I sighed. "(Alright, see if you can help Satori with the droid.)"

Reeko didn't protest and shuffled over. I couldn't imagine what he was going through; I didn't want to.

"Helpful?" Atris queried.

"No," I shook my head. "Not that I expected it to. Creenar may have had some enemies, but family tends to paint a somewhat unrealistic picture of each other. Also Reeko hasn't been home in months, so there could be something they haven't been telling him."

"If you didn't think he was going to tell you anything, then why ask?"

"Because you never know," I replied. "Plus Life Lesson 63: the most important things are learned from what people don't say."

"Reading between the lines," Atris clarified the dictum.

"Precisely," I nodded. "Unfortunately Reeko is too honest to be of much use. I cannot think of a motive for taking his family except random violence."

"That doesn't fit with what I've seen of this place," Atris commented.

"Agreed," I concurred. "Random kidnappings rarely take place on Nar Shaada, so here, I just can't imagine."

"You'll figure it out," she said confidently.

"I'm a kid with no detective experience," I disagreed. "The best thing for me to do is to hand it over to the authorities when they arrive."

"And in the meantime?" Atris queried.

"Poke around," I shrugged. "See if there was anything we missed."

0000000000000000000000000000 00000000

The police actually arrived more or less when they said they would, which surprised me. But then again, I suppose there isn't much to do here so it wasn't like they had any distractions. When we explained to them the situation, they had a hard time swallowing it.

"Creenar's been kidnapped?" the lead officer repeated in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Again I explained my reasoning to them, which just got more baffled looks.

"A kidnapping," the junior officer, a Twilek, muttered. "Has there been a kidnapping on Dantooine before?"

"Not since the Vong," the senior officer, a Human, gruffly replied. "I've never dealt with one. What do you think we should do, Master Jedi?"

"Who said anything about us being Jedi?" I protested immediately.

"Your lightsaber," answered the Human, "and that Creenar picked up a group of five Jedi from the spaceport a couple of days ago. I assume them to be you?"

"Sort of," I replied. "The problem is we're not Jedi exactly, not yet at least. We came here to complete our last test before becoming Padawans, like apprentices."

"I see," the man scratched his chin. "Sam, call the office and see if there is anyone who can take point on a kidnapping."

The Twilek nodded and trotted back to the speeder. The man turned back to us.

"So what were you doing when Creenar and his family were taken?" the officer asked.

"We were in the crystal cave on the other side of Khoonda," I answered for the group.

"What in blazes were you doing there?" he exclaimed. "Don't you know going in there is suicide?"

"It was our last test," I shrugged. "We were to go in and retrieve a crystal for our lightsabers."

"So that one doesn't work?" questioned the officer, pointing to my belt.

"No, it does," I replied. "But this one was a gift a long time ago. We are supposed to build our own sabers when we get back to the Academy."

"You've got some crazy masters sending you in there," muttered the man. "It's a wonder you got out alive at all. So when did you get back?"

"A little over an hour ago," I informed him. "We came back and found the place pretty much as it is, except for the droid," I motioned to where Satori and Reeko were working. "I figured it might have recorded something which would be a nice clue so I got them working on repairing it. Plus it gave them something to do instead of just stomp around. The Rodian there is Creenar's son."

"Reeko?" the man looked over my shoulder at the huddled green shape. "I guess it is. I didn't know he was a Jedi."

"Almost a Jedi," I corrected.

"Yo boss, the home base said that the case should be handed over to the Jedi," the Twilek reported. "We are to give them our full cooperation."

"Alright then," the man looked at me a bit relieved. "This baby's yours now, boss."

"They do know that they are handing a kidnapping case over to a bunch of teenagers, right?" I questioned, annoyed. This was beyond stupid.

"I told them that," shrugged the pink Twilek, "but I guess all they heard was Jedi. Besides, no one there has the expertise to handle this kind of a case anyway."

"But a bunch of kids do?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm just the messenger," the Twilek raised his hands defensively. "But if I may be honest, you do seem to know what you're talking about."

"I'd bet you'd like to know why," Atris cut in. I shot her a warning look.

"Are you sure there isn't anybody at all that can take lead on this?" I asked hopefully.

"No," the Human shook his head.

"What kind of police force are you?" I demanded, exasperated.

"We're just a small planet," the Twilek defended. "Not much happens here. An occasional domestic dispute, but that's pretty much it. Certainly nothing to this level."

"Looks like you're in charge," Salty commented, coming up beside us. "So what's your first move, boss?"

"Call for back up," I grunted. "Salty, see if you can call the Academy and get a master or full-fledged knight here to take charge. Someone old enough and experienced enough to actually handle this." The Twilek nodded and began looking for a long range communicator.

"The Solos where only teenagers during the Yuuzhan Vong War and look what they did," Atris pointed out to me.

I looked uncomfortably at my purple lightsaber. "And look what happened to Anakin," I replied. "Besides, they'd been training practically since they were born. We've been doing this for all of six months."

"Are you just going to wait then?" asked the Twilek officer.

"Tell me what you can about Creenar and his family," I questioned, not knowing what else to do. "Political? Enemies? Liked, disliked?"

"No, not really," the Human answered. "I'm afraid I really can't think of anything. For the most part Creenar keeps to himself. Certainly none of them are involved in any politics. Occasionally they'll have a part or social function. But for the most part he's just a typical farmer. I can't think of any enemies, can you Ronan?"

The pink Twilek shook his head, lekku dancing. "No," Ronan said. "Creenar's pretty affable. Nice guy who'll definitely help you out in a pinch but stays out of your business. He's liked by pretty much everyone that I know."

"No enemies at all?" I repeated my question.

"I mean there are some people with an anti-alien attitude, but there are certainly more prominent aliens to abduct if you want to make a point," the Human, Adam I think, shrugged. "Someone like Arkre'esh, our Quarren administrator, would be a better target. Even Ronan ranks higher on the social food chain than Creenar."

"The thing is that we've never had much trouble between Humans and Aliens," Ronan added. "Most of the alien haters are outcasts and don't have the resources to pull this off."

"What about money?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Pretty much middle class," Adam supplied. "They do well enough to be comfortable, but hardly wealthy, even by our standards. I can think of at least three or four other families that would be much more lucrative targets than them."

"So back to square one," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Salty, anything from the Academy?"

"Yeah," the Twilek called back. "It's Rosh and Jaden. They want to talk to you."

"Me?" I replied.

"Yep," she motioned.

With a sigh, I strode over to the communicator. "What could you possibly want to talk about?" I snarled at the screen. "I mean, what's so complicated about sending a couple of spare Jedi to help out a hostage situation?"

"Good to see you to, Revan," Jaden allowed a small smile.

"Respect isn't your strong suite, is it?" Rosh added.

"You're just _now_ figuring this out?" I snapped. "So what is that you wanted to talk about?"

"We think it would be best if you handled this," Rosh answered.

"WHAT?!" I exploded at the screen. "_You want to leave a kidnapping investigation and rescue in the hands of a bunch of teenagers? Are you insane?"_

"No," Jaden shook her head. "You, as in you specifically."

"Me?" I frowned, crossing my arms. "So you want to leave the fate of three people in the hands of a sixteen year old with a rap sheet a kilometer long? That's much better."

"The crystal cave was never your test," Rosh explained. "That was the others. All you had to do was get them through more or less in one piece."

"That was hard enough, trust me," I grumbled.

"Perhaps," Rosh shrugged. "But this is your test."

"So you set this up?" I growled. "Somehow that makes sense."

"No, Revan, we didn't," Jaden shook her head. "But this is the will of the Force. What or whoever is responsible, facing them is your test."

It took every ounce of self-will to contain the rage I felt boiling inside of me. "No," I finally grated out. "No more tests, no more games. It's bad enough when you play with our lives, but this is someone else's life on the line. I am just a kid and am in no way capable of handling this. You are going to send someone here to take over _now_."

"Revan, we should not interfere in your test," Rosh looked skeptical.

"_I wasn't asking_," I snarled, my voice low. "I'm telling you. If anything happens to Creenar or his family, I am holding _you_ responsible. Believe me when I tell you that you do not what me as an enemy."

Rosh and Jaden shared an uncomfortable glance and did their silent communication thing. "Very well," Rosh said after a pause. "Jaden and I will come to assist you. Keep advised that we won't get there for twelve hours at least."

"Just get here," I answered curtly. "We'll hold down the fort."

"Revan be warned that this is still something that I believe only you can solve," Jaden advised. "The Force is working here, that much I can sense."

"Whatever," I dismissed. "See you in twelve hours." I shut off the transmission.

"What did they say?" Reeko left Satori and came up to me, voice hopeful.

"Jaden and Rosh are coming as soon as they can," I told him, trying to be as comforting as possible. "But it'll take them at least 12 hours to get here," I added.

"What do we do until then?" Reeko asked.

I started to open my mouth when I realized that everyone, including the two officers, was staring at me. Anger washed over me like a tidal wave. Why was everyone looking at me? I'm just a kid who should be out running around, getting into trouble and stuff, not rescuing people from kidnappers and stuff like that. I wasn't ready for this.

"I don't know, Reeko," I finally answered, voice tight. "I don't have any answers for you. Help Satori with the droid and maybe that'll point us in the right direction."

Reeko numbly nodded and walked back over to where Satori was tinkering away. Without a glance or look at the rest of them, I turned and stormed out of the house.

I needed to get away from everyone and just think. Walking up to the top of the hill that I sat on the previous night, I leaned against a tree and looked out over rolling plains. It wasn't long before I felt a familiar presence intruding my thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Atris asked.

"You mean besides Reeko's parents and sister being abducted?" I retorted.

"Besides that," Atris confirmed.

"Why is everyone looking to me like I know what to do?" I exploded. "I don't know why they were abducted. I don't know who did it. I don't know where they are. And worst of all, I don't have the faintest clue where to start looking.

"Yet _everyone_ expects me to have all the answers," I railed, standing up. "And I don't have any."

"You feel responsible for them, don't you," Atris questioned, maintaining her distance. I could only guess the dark side waves I was sending off right now.

"Of course I do!" I shouted. "Because you all are making me responsible. Even Jaden and Rosh expect _me_ to solve this. And I can't. So when they get killed, their blood is going to be on my hands. Reeko is never going to forgive me. It's bad enough that I have to babysit you guys, but to bear the responsibility for people I don't even know, that's just too much."

"But isn't that the point of being a Jedi?" Atris pointed out. "Aren't we by nature responsible for the galaxy? We have an awesome power at our disposal being connected to the Force, but with that comes the responsibility to the rest of the galaxy to guide them, defend them, preserve them, and protect them. Being a Jedi means being responsible for everyone."

"Why did I sign up for this?" I grumbled under my breath.

"Why did you?" Atris questioned.

"I—"

"REVAN!" Salty shouted, sprinting up to us on the hill. "Revan! Come quick. Satori fixed the droid and you're not going to believe this."

She didn't look happy; more like terrified and a bit confused. Apprehensive, Atris and I followed her back to Creenar's house. When we entered it, I found everyone staring at me in a mixture of shock and anger, like somehow this was my fault. The tension in the room almost crackled.

"You have got a lot of explaining to do," Satori finally said, glaring at me.

"It does look very bad, Jedi Revan," Adam commented.

"What are you talking about?" I scrunched my eyebrows, thoroughly lost.

"Look," the Zabrak pointed to the droid. "Play it, Reeko."

The Rodian gave me a look of utter betrayal as he commanded the droid to replay the message. The protocol droid stiffened and then shot out a holoprojection from its eyes.

For a moment my blood froze. The man in the image was bald with pale skin and blue tattoos everywhere and a lightsaber on his belt. He looked like the man from my dream.

"Revan, is that…" Atris started.

I scrutinized the image. "No," I said slowly. "No, that's not him. More like a bad copy. He's not tall enough and the jaw isn't quite right. Plus his clothes are the wrong color."

"Greetings Revan," the man spoke in a hard voice. "We have watched you for a long time and now it is time for you to take your rightful place at our head.

"You are no doubt wondering what has happened to your hosts. I can solve that mystery for you: they are with us. Our apologies for the rather dramatic introduction, but we felt that simply walking up to you on the street would not have gotten your attention. Do not be alarmed; the Rodian and his family have not been harmed, yet. But they will not stay that way unless you meet us on the ruins of the Jedi Enclave one hour from accessing this message.

"I trust that your Jedi training will have instilled in you enough of a sense of duty that you will come to free your friend's parents. Even if not, I advise you to come as we have much to discuss. I look forward to meeting you, Revan's Heir."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Test

"I look forward to meeting to you, Revan's Heir."

I stared in horror and astonishment as the hologram. Who was this guy? How did he know me? Who was "us"? Why had they been watching me? For how long? Why did they want me?

A confusing array of emotions swirled through me. Part of me felt violated, like my entire life had been manipulated against my will and if there was one thing I hated, it was being manipulated. On the other hand, I felt curious to know what they knew about

"REVAN!" Satori's harsh voice shook me back to reality.

Blinking I looked around at the others who were all staring at me. Even Atris looked shocked and she never looked like anything. Suddenly I realized that they were _blaming_ me!

"An explanation would be nice," she demanded, hands on her hips and a wicked glare in her eyes.

Anger ripped through me like a tidal wave. "I don't have one," I exploded. "I don't know who this guy is or how he knows me. I still don't have answers for any of you. In fact, I have even more questions than you. It is _my_ life that this person and whoever he's with has been manipulating, not yours."

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. No one said a word; no one even looked at me.

"Which way are the Enclave Ruins?" I ground out to the officers.

"Uh, a little west and south of here," Ronan answered after a pause.

"Stay here until I get back," I ordered as I stormed out.

I got halfway to the speeder when I felt Atris's presence behind me.

"Stay here," I repeated. "I'm going alone."

"I don't blame you," she said quietly.

I stopped and sighed. "I know," I replied without turning around. "But what you and Jaden and Rosh have been saying suddenly makes sense. The Force was telling you something. It was telling me something for that matter; I just didn't listen."

"Your visions?" she guessed.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "I don't know what they all mean, but they are connected. I do know that the Force is guiding me. There is something bigger going on here than just a simple kidnapping and I want answers. They took Creenar and his family to get to me. Not to Reeko, but me. That means they've been stalking me long enough to know when and where I'm at my most vulnerable. I need to know how and why. I don't like being manipulated, but I have to see this through, if only to get some answers."

"I'm coming with you," she stated.

"No," I shook my head. "Jaden and Rosh were right; this is my test and my battle. None of you can help me. I have to do this alone. Stay here and keep the others from doing something stupid."

"I understand," she said in her flat monotone.

"Thanks," I nodded, glancing up at the waning sun. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, hopefully before it gets dark."

"May the Force be with you, Revan," she said quietly as I hopped on the speeder and drove off.

00000000000000000000000000

The ruins were hard to miss. Mostly it was a grown-over crater with the remnants of ancient foundations and a few low walls. Where the central room, perhaps the council would sit, had been stood a small knot of people, including Creenar, Saala, and Maasa.

"Greetings Revan," the man from the hologram stepped forward as I approached. "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever get my message."

"You I'll deal with in a moment," I snapped at him before looking past to Creenar and family. "(Are you guys okay?)"

"(So far)" Creenar said from the middle of the knot. "(They've been good hosts, cuffs aside)" he raised his hands, bound. He and his family were sitting on the ground, their wrists cuffed in front of them with electro-cuffs.

"Excuse me," the man said sharply. "But I would appreciate it if you dealt with me."

"As you wish," I turned back and faced the young man.

For the first time I really appraised him in person. He was of average height, about my age, maybe a year or two older, and decked in out black robes. His skin was unnaturally pale, almost translucent with cruel, yellow eyes.

It was then that I first felt his presence in the Force; it was like getting a bucket of ice water getting dumped on me. I thought I had felt the dark side before when Satori or I or even Atris got dangerously angry, but now I knew how wrong I was. That was nothing compared to what I was sensing now.

The Force felt cold but at the same time wild, like a tempest of ice. I had to struggle to suppress a shiver. At the same time, it felt different than what I had always been told the dark side was like. I had always been told that it was fueled by hatred and anger, but this guy wasn't angry. Instead he was consumed by something else: a passion so strong it could only be described as lust, pure lust for power. Hatred and anger I was prepared to deal with, but this…this was something different entirely. It legitimately frightened me.

Taking a deep breath, I focused myself on the task at hand. "You wanted me and you got me so let them go, now," I commanded.

"Direct and to the point," the man looked amused. "You are Revan's Heir."

"And you're stalling," I cut through his veil. He was trying to get under my skin and I wasn't going to let him. "Before you get anything from me, you let them go."

"You are in no place to make demands," the man replied, his voice dropping several degrees. It was I who was getting under his skin now.

"Quite the contrary," I countered, a cold smile forming at the corners of my lips. Dramatically I looked around, taking in the half dozen mercenaries standing guard with the young man over the three Rodians. "You seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to meet me," I noted casually, "which means that this is more than a meet and greet," I turned my eyes back on to the young man. "Which means you need me, don't you?"

"We, uh, we…"

I narrowed my eyes, a full smile spreading across my face. "Oh but it gets better," I continued, the whole picture falling into place. "You're not the one in charge, are you? You're just a lackey, a messenger. And if you lose me…" I glared right into his eyes, feeling the prick of fear that struck his hear. "Well, you know what awaits you if you fail. So either you release them or I leave."

"I," he started. I could feel the fear and anger building inside of him, putting him on the verge of doing something stupid. I was clouding his judgment, but I didn't want him losing control. Subtly I placed my hand on my lightsaber in case things got crazy. I needed to calm him down.

"I'll tell you what," I said gently but confidently. "Let the two women go and then we can talk. After that, you let Creenar go."

"Very well," the man gave a sharp nod to a pair of mercenaries. They helped Saala and Maasa to their feet and removed the cuffs. The two Rodians scrambled over to me as fast as they could

"Take the speeder back to the house," I told them. "You do know how drive, yes?"

Maasa nodded, her face a pale green. I guess that is the Rodian version of turning white. I couldn't really blame her or Saala for looking so sick; it had been a long day for both. The daughter led Saala, who was semi-comatose, by the arm to the speeder and they took off at top speed.

"You came alone, I see," the man commented after they had departed.

I shrugged. "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so a long time ago," I commented.

"What makes you say that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You yourself said that you've been watching me," I explained casually, sitting down on a plasteel container. "And you knew enough about me to know when and where I'd be and how to make me do what you want. If you could do all that, killing me should be child's play. So the question is what do you want with me?"

"Let me first introduce myself," the man took the seat across from me. "My name is Darth Malak of Revan's Sith Empire."

"My Sith Empire?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No, not yours exactly," Malak shook his head. "Tell me, what do you know of Darth Revan?"

"I've heard of a Jedi named Revan," I answered, remembering Atris's reference to Jedi with purple blades, "but other than a name, I don't know anything else."

"The Jedi Revan and the Dark Lord Revan are one in the same," Malak explained. "He was a Sith that lived more than 4000 years ago. He was originally a Jedi Knight and was instrumental in leading the Old Republic to victory over the Mandalorians. But after the war, Revan discovered the true power of the dark side and embraced it. He and his apprentice, Darth Malak, turned on the Republic and nearly destroyed it. Unfortunately Malak turned on his master and killed him. Without Revan to lead the Sith, they soon self-destructed and Revan's glorious empire was never completed."

"Fascinating history lesson," I commented dryly. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Have you heard of the Disciples of Ragnos?" he switched the subject again.

"Yeah," I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to keep up with the constant switching of topics. "They were a Sith cult about seventeen years ago that tried to resurrect a dead Sith lord, Marko Ragnos. What does…Wait, you aren't trying to resurrect Revan, are you?"

"No, no," Malak shook his head almost sadly. "Ragnos's staff was destroyed by your master, Jaden Korr. Even if it wasn't, we don't know where Revan's body is, assuming there is a body to resurrect.

"The reason I ask about the Disciples of Ragnos is because that is where our cult got its start. Our leaders were two of the few legitimate Force users in Tavion's group. Fortunately they weren't at Korriban when Tavion was defeated. After the staff's destruction, they went into hiding, fearing the Jedi and that is when they both had a vision."

"Still waiting to find out what this has to do with me," I scowled. The day wasn't getting any younger.

"Be patient," Malak scowled back. "In this vision, they heard a voice repeating these lines:

_With Revan's blood and Revan's power shall Revan's Heir be born,_

_ At the Galaxy's weakest hour shall he rise from her blackest pit,_

_ In Revan's footsteps shall he seek that which is lost,_

_ And with Revan's blade shall he finish what his father had begun."_

"And that means what, exactly?" I questioned.

"That's what our founders wondered too," Malak continued. "So they researched everything they could on Revan and his empire. They discovered that the vision was actually a repeat of an ancient prophecy that predicted the return of Revan's empire."

"After all you've gone through to meet me," I glanced around at the mercenaries, "I'm going to guess that I'm Revan's Heir in this scenario and Revan's Heir is to follow in his footsteps to seek that which is lost. What does that mean?"

"We believe the lost item is the Star Forge," Malak supplied.

"The what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"When Revan left the Jedi, he found records of an ancient, even by his day, device called the Star Forge," Malak explained. "He followed a series of five star maps, one of which is here on Dantooine, to its location. Revan then used the Star Forge to spearhead his invasion of the Old Republic."

"So was the Star Forge a weapon, like the Sun Crusher or Death Star?" I asked, my own curiosity rising.

"No one knows for sure," Malak disappointed. "The records of what happened back that far are sketchy at best. Even exactly what happened to Malak, Revan's former apprentice, are unclear.

"But we don't think the Star Forge was a weapon. There are no records of it being used in any battle, even the pivotal ones. What seems more likely is that the Star Forge was a massive factory or shipyard of some kind that could produce ships, weapons, or whatever else at an awesome rate," Malak hypothesized. "What we do know is that Revan disappeared from known space shortly after the Mandalorian War and the returned with a massive armada. The question has always been where did Revan get his army."

I frowned as I listened. Then the pieces suddenly clicked into place. "You are planning to conquer the galaxy, aren't you?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Of course, it makes perfect sense. After the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Galactic Alliance is still weak. Thousands of systems are still reeling from the devastation the Vong unleashed. The economic infrastructure is still rebuilding and the military is still weak. The Galaxy is ripe for the taking. If you can find the Star Forge, even a small group of people could build a force strong enough and fast enough to conquer the galaxy."

"Very good," Malak smiled. "You are Revan's Heir."

"The only issue I have with your plan is me," I crossed my arms. "What exactly do you need me or Revan's Heir for in the scenario? If you know where the Star Maps are, just follow them and find the Star Forge."

"We don't know where the Star Maps are," admitted Malak. "We only know where this one is because Malak attempted to destroy it when he attacked the Jedi Academy that stood here. He wanted to cover the path to Star Forge."

"Apparently he failed," I dryly commented.

"So it would seem," Malak agreed, "and fortunately for us too. We can use this Star Map to find the others and thus lead us to the Star Forge."

"Fascinating," I replied. "But that still doesn't explain why you need me? Why not just go in and get the Star Map and move on? You could've gotten to the Star Forge without anyone knowing and conquered the galaxy in less than a week."

"We can't get in," Malak explained. "Don't think we haven't tried. But it seems that Revan's Heir is the only one who can enter the mound. In addition, the Star Maps are relatively small devices on planets. Only the Force could guide us to them and only Revan's Heir has the connection to them to find them."

"That is, of course, assuming I actually am Revan's Heir," I pointed out.

"You are Revan's Heir," Malak firmly replied. "Of that there is no doubt."

"Let's just say I'm not convinced," I scowled.

"Consider the markers of Revan's Heir," Malak raised a finger. "One, he will possess Revan's blood; in other words, he will be a descendant of Revan. Two, he will possess Revan's power; they say that looking at Revan was like looking into the heart of the Force. Three, he will rise from the galaxy's blackest pit; I can think of no better description of Nar Shaada. And four, he will bear Revan's blade; Revan's lightsaber."

"And how does any of that relate to me? I'll admit Nar Shaada is about as miserable a place as there is, but there are lots of people that live there. I just have this old lightsaber, I'm not that powerful in the Force, and I'd love to see you prove that I'm a descendant of Revan; I don't even know who my parents are," I countered.

"But we do," Malak gave me a cold smile. "We know you lineage, even if you don't. We have known since you were born that you were Revan's descendant and thus have watched you closely since. As for your lightsaber, that relic did indeed once belong to the Revan himself, although the crystal is not the typical red. And your power," he looked hard at me, "let's just say that until you can feel yourself in the Force, you have no idea how much power you truly possess."

Although I didn't want to believe him, I couldn't find a way to rationally dispute his points. In the end, I resigned to myself, it didn't really matter. He believed that I was Revan's Heir and thus Creenar's life (and mine too) depended on me acting like.

"For now, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," I said, standing up. "What is it that you want with me right now?"

"To enter the mound and open the Star Map," Malak answered simply.

"Very well, I accept your terms," I replied. "Now let Creenar go."

"Not until we have what we came for," Malak rejected. "You may be Revan's Heir, but that certainly doesn't mean we trust you. We will keep him for collateral, in case you try anything foolish."

"As you wish," I shrugged. "So do I go in alone or does someone need to babysit me?"

"I and the Rodian shall accompany you," Malak answered.

I shrugged again. "Let's go then," I looked around for a speeder.

"This way," Malak led me and Creenar to where a sleek speeder was waiting. "I trust you know the way," Malak questioned.

"I don't think I can forget it," I grumbled back.

0000000000000000000000000000 000

The sun had long set by the time we got to the mound. Above us the twin moons shone brightly, illuminating the ancient structure in their pale silvery light.

"So how does this work?" I asked. "Is there some sort of password that I say or something?"

"You Revan's Heir," Malak shrugged. "You figure it out."

"Do you want the Star Forge or not?" I snapped. Malak ignored me and leaned against the speeder.

With a sigh I walked up to the massive stone doors. I could feel the power of the Force, especially the dark side, radiating from the mound. Strangely, I also felt a certain connection to the place. A pit began to form in my stomach as for the first time I considered that Malak just may have been right; maybe I really was Revan's Heir.

That, I decided, was a worry for another time. Right now I needed to focus on getting into the mound. Studying the design of the door, I noticed a square peg in the center. On a whim, I pressed it.

It didn't budge, but I felt something in it, like it was supposed to move. Drawing on the Force, I tried again. This time, the peg slid into the door and the stones began slid open, like a giant mouth opening up into a dark pit.

"Well that isn't creepy at all," I commented sarcastically, staring into the dark hole.

"Excellent," Malak cackled from behind me. "Carry on." With the Sith and Creenar in tow, I descended down the slope into the belly of the mound.

"(It's dark in here)" Creenar mumbled nervously.

I pulled my lightsaber from belt and ignited it. Instantly I felt Malak tense behind me as he reached for his.

"Oh relax," I told him. "It's the closest thing we have to a light." I could sense that he was still tense, but his hand wasn't on his blade.

Life Lesson 114: Lightsabers make terrible flashlights.

The purple blade barely illuminated stuff a meter in front of me and more than once I stubbed my toe on a stray rock. But within a couple of minutes, we made our way to a dimly lit room. Waiting for us was a droid.

The details of the conversation are tedious and boring. To sum it up, the droid had to cycle through a dozen languages before we found one that I recognized. It then proceeded to give us a history lesson about something called the Infinite Empire that existed around 30,000 years ago. It also referenced the Star Forge, though it refused to elaborate, much to my and Malak's irritation. The droid ended its spiel with this warning.

"(Only those who are worthy may go further.)"

"And how will we prove our worth?" I asked, annoyed. Why couldn't we just walk in, look at the map, and go?

"(The proving grounds are to your left and right)" the droid answered in something akin to Wookie.

"(And if we don't prove our worth?)" Creenar piped up nervously.

"(Then you die)" the droid answered matter-of-factly. "(No one has been worthy in 4000 years)"

"Wonderful," I sighed and walked through the door on the left and was quickly reminded of Life Lesson 91.

Never just walk into a dark room.

All around the world exploded into flames. Only with Force-aided reflexes was I able to dissipate the flames before getting barbecued. Blinking away the tears, I scanned the room for the source.

Scuttling like a kinrath was a spider like droid similar to the overseer droid in the central chamber. Only this one appeared to be equipped with a flamethrower.

"Get Creenar out of here," I ordered Malak.

"But he's my hostage!" protested my sort of ally.

"He's an anchor that'll get us both killed," I countered, lighting up saber and ducking behind a pile of rubble just as the droid let loose another gout of flame. "And if something happens to him, then you can forget me helping you find the Star Forge."

Malak didn't answer, but from the shuffling I heard, my guess was that my argument convinced him.

I peeked over the fallen blocks to find my adversary. It wasn't hard; his metal feet on the stone floor made him as easy to track as a rancor (and yes, I've had some unfortunate personal experience with that). Apparently the droid was smart enough to figure out where I was and now was attempting to flank me. I needed a plan and fast.

Thinking at light speed, I flipped over the rubble just as the droid turned the corner. A moment later, the spot I had been crouching was engulfed in flame.

But now the droid's back was turned to me. I didn't know if it had 360 sensors though at this point it didn't really matter. Tapping into the Force, I shot forward towards the droid. I rounded the corner around the rubble just at the droid turned to face me.

I swung my blade up, guided by the Force, and connected with the nose where the flame thrower was. It sheared off and I followed that up with a downward slash that cleaved the robot in two.

That was about the time Malak showed back up.

"I see you took care of the droid," he said flatly.

"No thanks to you," I snapped. "There's a computer terminal over there that I think we're supposed to check it out." We walked over to the terminal and stared at it.

"So, uh, what do we do?" he questioned.

"How the hell should I know?" I growled. "This was your idea."

"Right," Malak studied the terminal.

"You guys really didn't think this through, did you?" I crossed my arms as he continued to examine the ancient terminal.

"There have been a lot of unforeseen complications," Malak admitted. "There's a slot here that a datapad could fit in. Put yours in."

"Why mine?" I said. "Use yours."

"I don't have one," Malak retorted. "Besides, you're Revan's Heir."

"That has nothing to do with this," I exclaimed.

"Just stick it in," Malak snapped.

I gave him a curious look. "You might want to rephrase that," I suppressed a chuckle.

"Grow up and put your datapad into the slot," Malak shot me an annoyed look, which with his tattoos was humorous.

"As you wish," I handed him my datapad and he slid it in to the slot.

Malak put the pad into the slot. The terminal whirred to life for a moment before regurgitating my datapad.

"I guess that didn't work," Malak sighed.

"Wait," I held him up. The screen suddenly blinked to life. It then listed six geographic areas: volcanic, grassland, desert, ocean, artic, and tropical.

"Choose the three death giving zones," the terminal commanded.

"Uh, okay," I shrugged and selected volcanic, desert, and artic. The computer blinked off.

"Is that it?" I asked Malak.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I guess so."

We walked back through the central corridor, passed both Creenar who was content to just sit on the floor in front of the overseer droid, who was content to ignore us.

When we got to the door, I stopped. "Let's be smart about this," I told Malak. "The other room had a psycho droid, so I'm willing to bet that this one does to."

"What do you suggest?" Malak questioned.

"You go right and I'll go left," I suggested, igniting my lightsaber. "He can't go after both of us. Whichever of us is free takes out the droid."

"Okay," Malak agreed, lighting up his blade.

"One, two, three," I counted and we burst through the door.

On cue a spidery-looking droid scrambled out from the Force knows where. As my luck would have it, it zeroed in on me. I sprinted to my left, making for the wall.

I didn't make it.

Instead of torching me with a flamethrower, the droid was kind enough to freeze me with some sort of cryogenic ray, which was a new experience for me (as I have been stabbed, burned, punched, thrown off buildings, run over by speeders, bitten by all kinds of animals, and even kissed by a crazed Gand [don't ask; it's a disturbing story], that is saying a lot). My muscles locked up and I slammed into the wall, unable to move.

Either because he still needed me or he wasn't the complete jerk I took him for, Malak actually followed the plan and saved my butt before it was turned completely into a Jedicicle. With the droids focus on me, he calmly let loose a torrent of lightening that essentially scrambled the droids circuits, causing it to shut down.

"Need a hand," the Sith offered.

"Yeah," I grunted, taking his hand and struggling to my feet. I could move, but my joints were screaming. "Let's get to the terminal."

We repeated the process at the second ancient terminal, except this time it asked for the life-giving zones. I entered grassland, ocean, and tropical and the terminal blinked off.

Returning to the central chamber, we were greeted by the overseer droid.

"(You have successfully passed the test)" the droid informed us. "(You may proceed.)" Behind it, the massive stone door shuddered and slid open.

"At last," Malak seemed to breathing a sigh of relief. "The Star Forge is ours."

"Hold you dewbacks, son," I cautioned. "There's no guarantee that this thing still works."

"Have some optimism," Malak told me as we walked into a long chamber.

At the end of the chamber, there was a strange looking device that looked like a three-finger hand that was closed. As we got closer, the hand opened up and a black sphere floated to the center. It began to glow as a chart of the galaxy, though significant chunks were missing.

"Where is the Star Forge?" demanded Malak.

"It isn't here," I stated flatly.

"I don't understand," Malak continued to stare at the map.

"You yourself said that Revan had to follow five Star Maps to find the Star Forge," I pointed out.

Looking at the map, I noticed four systems highlighted. Without thinking, I blurted out, "These must be the locations of the other Star Maps," I gestured to the systems. "Kashyyyk, Manaan, Korriban, and Tatooine."

"Thank you Revan," Malak turned a cold smile on me. "We appreciate your service to Revan's Reborn Empire."

"Dammit, dammit, dammit," I swore. I had screwed up big time. Maybe Malak would've noticed it anyway, but essentially I had just told a new Sith threat how to find a superweapon or something equally bad. I was going to catch so much crap for this.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Malak said simply as he started back for the central chamber. "In fact, you could turn this to your advantage."

"Really?" I snorted derisively. "Master Skywalker is going to have my head on a stake."

"What if you joined us?" Malak offered as we got exited the Star Map chamber.

"Joined you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"The last line of the prophecy says that you, Revan's Heir, will lead the way," Malak answered. "With his blade, you will finish what your father, or ancestor Revan, began. You will defeat the Alliance and conquer the galaxy at the head of the Sith Empire. Join us, Revan. Embrace the power of the dark side. With the Jedi, you'll be nothing more than a pawn to be jerked around by the Order or the Alliance or whoever else hires out the Jedi. But if you join us, you will be our emperor. You will become the most powerful man in the galaxy, ruler of it all."

"So let me get this straight," I crossed my arms. "You're offering me the position at the head of the empire, to be your dark lord or whatever? All I have to do is embrace the dark side?"

"Yes," Malak implored. "Can't you feel its power in this place? The raw, untamed energy. Imagine that power as yours to command. The galaxy would be yours to control. Worlds would live and die at your word. All you have to do is embrace its power and join us."

I could feel the power of the dark side and Malak's entreaty was passionate and earnest. Even without the Force, I could feel the sincerity in his plea. He meant what he said. And I knew I was going to get in trouble for spilling the beans when I got back to Ossus. So naturally I did the most unexpected thing I could have.

I laughed.

"What is so funny?" Malak demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry," I wiped my eyes. "What makes you think I _want_ that power? I can barely stand to lead around that sorry group of students. Why would I want to lead an empire?"

"But you would have billions worshipping at your feet," a flabbergasted Malak stuttered. "You would have everything you could want."

"What I want is to be left alone," I countered, chuckling. "Leading an empire would ensure that I was never left alone. I'm sorry, but you're asking the wrong guy. I have desire for power or conquest. I want to live a simple, quiet life of peace."

Malak just stared at me in shock. Even Creenar looked a little stunned from his place.

"No one has ever said no to power before," Malak finally whispered.

"There's a first for everything," I shrugged.

"This leaves us in an awkward position," Malak said, studying his right foot.

"It does," I agreed. "We both know the locations of the Star Maps which will lead to the location of the Star Forge, which means we can't let the other one leave."

"Indeed," Malak straightened himself up and shook off his black outer robe. Drawing his lightsaber, he lit it up and took a stance.

Suddenly I was in a very bad position. Standing between me and Malak was sitting Creenar. If I went for my blade, then Creenar was toast. If I tried to protect Creenar, then I would be vulnerable. Either way, I needed to remove Creenar from the equation.

Leaving my lightsaber on my belt, I reached out with the Force and grabbed Creenar, hoisting him into the air. The Rodian let out a strangled cry as I tossed through the open door of the first room we went to.

Now that Creenar was safe, more or less, I needed to take care of myself. In the time it took me to get the Rodian clear, Malak had covered the distance between us. Thanks to the Force I was able to dive right, narrowly missing his blade as it came flying down. I barely got my lightsaber up in time to block his next attack.

Tapping into the Force, I directed a telekinetic blast right into his gut, launching the Sith across the room, slamming into the rock wall. It wasn't enough to stun him, just shook him up a little, but it did buy me enough time to get back to feet.

That was the time Malak needed to shake the cobwebs loose. By the time I got my blade up, Malak was bearing down on me.

This time I was ready, or at least readier. Malak started jabbing and slashing with terrifying ferocity. Slipping into Soresu, I barely managed to deflect his relentless stream of strikes as I began to retreat.

I was in a duel unlike any other; this was real. All my other saber duels had been just practice, but this guy was actually trying to kill me. Ducking, I slipped under a slash at my neck and then tried to strike at Malak's unprotected midsection.

He was too quick though, deflecting the stab away. It did buy me some time to analyze Malak's style. The Sith was using a combination of speed and power, trying to batter through my defenses. It was an aggressiveness and ferocity that I had never seen before; I could feel the dark side rolling off of him in waves.

With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I realized that he was using Juyo, the seventh and most aggressive of the old combat forms. I had never practiced against anything like that before. So far I was holding out, but I didn't now for how much longer. I needed a plan.

In rapid succession, he swung at my legs, my head, and then thrust at my belly button. I managed to block the strike at my legs, deflect the swing at my head, and jumped out of the way of the stab.

Breathing hard, I knew there was absolutely no way I could keep this up for much longer. The idea of Soresu was to wear down your opponent and then strike at an opening, but that wasn't going to happen. He too skilled to make a mistake and too well-conditioned for me to outlast. I needed to go on the offensive, but I dare not lessen my defenses in the slightest. I needed space.

Malak made another stab at my chest. I swatted the blade away as hard as I could and then added a push move with the Force, moving my opponent back several paces. He shook himself and got ready for another charge.

In that brief pause, the answer struck me. Malak was pouring all of his concentration and Force focus into attack, which left him vulnerable to Force attacks. He wasn't prepared for it at all.

Zeroing in on my enemy, I tapped into the Force as he barreled towards me. He leapt towards me, saber scorching the ceiling with the tip of his blade. That was when I unleashed my attack.

I reached out with the Force, grasped his left ankle, and jerked.

Malak's eyes went wide as he felt himself get thrown off balance. Caught completely off-guard, he couldn't react and began tumbling towards me. Bracing myself, I waited until he was close enough and swung my blade in a wide upswing towards my enemy, but the Sith managed to torque himself out of the way.

Mostly.

Even though he got his body out of the way, somehow I managed to connect with his lower jaw, slicing it clean off.

With a garbled scream of pain, he crumpled into a heap on the floor, dropping his lightsaber in the process. Before he could recover his senses, I used the Force to retrieve his lightsaber, lighting up the blade. Striding towards him, I leveled my blades at him.

Wild eyed, Malak staggered to his feet as I approached. There was a sudden tingling in the back of my head as the Force warned me of danger but even then I didn't get the sabers up in time as Malak unleashed a storm of lightening. The blades managed to absorb most of the shock, but plenty still slammed home.

It felt like the hardest punch in history as the lightening tore through my chest. My clothes and skin began to hiss and sizzle and I was thrown back against the far wall. Even before I hit, I was already reaching out the Force to heal my damaged body.

"_We will meet again, Revan_," the Sith hissed to me through the Force as blood pulsed from the wound in his mouth. "_And when we do, prophecy or no, I will have my revenge_." With that, he turned and raced up the corridor to the exit.

I stumbled after him, but I was in no condition to give chase. Then I heard one of the worst sounds imaginable: falling rocks.

Dust and rocks filled the corridor as Malak collapsed entrance. Coughing, I cleared away as much of the dust as I could and examined the damage. I could use the Force to clear away the rubble, but it would be several hours before I was well enough to try. By then Malak would be long gone.

Dejectedly I staggered back down to the central chamber where Creenar was waiting.

"(Are you okay?)" the Rodian asked, staring at the burns on my chest.

"(I'll live)" I answered, using the Force to release his bonds. Gratefully Creenar rubbed his wrists, glad to be free for the first time in hours.

"(Did you win?)"

"(Yes and no)" I answered looking back up the ramp. "(I drove him off, but got us trapped down here.)"

"(We're trapped?)" exclaimed Creenar.

"(For now)" I sighed. "(At least until I've had some rest. Then I can probably clear away the rubble and get us out of here.)"

"(Then why the long face?)" Creenar looked confused.

"(Because I may have handed the most powerful item in the galaxy into the hands of a madman)" I replied, slumping against a pillar. "(Life Lesson 74: always _think_ before you speak.)"

"(A good rule)" Creenar acknowledged.

"(When it's followed)" I agreed.

I was tired and sore and depressed. I had failed miserably because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. It was going to be a long night.

Just then I felt a familiar presence in the Force.

_"Revan, do you need some help?"_ Atris called to me.

_"Atris?"_ I practically shouted back. _"Yes! Where are you?"_

_"Just outside the mound,"_ she answered. _"Salty and I followed you."_

_ "I told you to stay back at the house,"_ I grumbled.

_"Since when do you listen to Rosh and Jaden?"_ she countered. _"We've learned to ignore orders from you."_

_ "I'm a fantastic role model,"_ I groused. _"Since you guys are here, could you clear the mound entrance? Malak did a number on it."_

_"We saw,"_ Atris replied. _"What happened down there?"_

_"Long story,"_ I answered. _"Time is of the essence here."_

_"Hold on,"_ she said.

"Come on," I told the Rodian. "Help has arrived."

It was ten minutes before Atris and Salty got the entrance clear enough for us to squeeze out. I have never been so happy to see anyone as I was to see Atris. Without thinking, I gave her a huge hug.

"Good to see you too," she mumbled into my robes.

"By the Force, what happened to you?!" Salty exploded when she saw my scorched chest.

"Force Lightening," I answered sharply. "Come one, we need to catch Malak before…he gets away," I finished softly as I saw a small ship take off from the direction of the Enclave Ruins. The Force confirmed what I already knew; Malak had escaped.

"What is it?" Atris followed my gaze.

"Our lives just got a whole lot more complicated," I replied sadly and slumped to the ground.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: I Learn a New Trick

"(Hey Revan, you awake?)" I felt Reeko shaking me back to reality.

"(Not until a second ago)" I grumbled in reply, slowly sitting up.

"(How are you feeling?)" queried the Rodian.

I patted my chest. Already scar tissue was beginning to form where Malak had blasted me with lightening. Since coming back from Dantooine, I had spent most of the last three days in the Infirmary getting bacta treatments on my burns. Repeatedly I was told by Cighal and other healers how lucky I was to have gotten my sabers up in time to block the brunt of the attack. Otherwise, they told me, the blast would've permanently stopped my heart. I didn't feel lucky; just weak though I was feeling stronger.

"(Better)" I told him, slipping off the bed. "(What's up?)"

"(Master Skywalker wants to talk with you)" Reeko informed me. "(As do Jaden and Rosh, if you're up to it)"

I cast a querying glance at Marta, the Twilek nurse currently in charge.

"You may go," she told me in Basic. "According to your chart, you're ready for discharge. But be sure to be back here by 1400 for another bacta treatment."

"Yes ma'am," I nodded.

Slipping a robe over my bare chest and some slippers, I padded after Reeko. For a while we walked in silence. It had been awkward around my teammates after Dantooine. I felt that most privately blamed me for everything. Satori outright claimed that I was secretly part of this Sith cult and to be honest I couldn't blame her. Even though I had gotten Reeko his family back, I hadn't stopped Malak and had (inadvertently) given him the key to the star maps and finding the Star Forge.

Reeko seemed more forgiving mostly because he was just happy to have his parents back in one piece. Even still I could feel his distrust wafting through the Force whenever we were in the same room. Saltanna avoided me as much as she could. She was conflicted between what she had seen me do over the months we had known each other and what the facts seem to say.

Even my masters had avoided me since I got back. They had dropped by the Infirmary once since I had gotten back and that was only to tell me that Malak had vanished along with all traces of the cult. I'm certain that my teammates had told them everything and now they looked at me as a security threat.

Only Atris had staunchly stood beside me. Maybe because she could get inside my head; maybe because she just knew me so well, but she knew that I was innocent. I had done my best and it just wasn't good enough. Her support I treasured more than anything.

"(Atris has barely left your side since you we got back)" Reeko broke the silence as if he was reading my mind. Given that we were both Jedi that was a distinct possibility.

"(I know)" I nodded.

"(She likes you)" he said flatly.

That made me pause. Like me? We got along fairly well, albeit she was still hard to read. Maybe she thought she did because I was the closest thing she'd ever had to a friend. Even then I had hard time imagine Atris liking anybody because that required having feelings.

"(Maybe)" I cautiously replied. "(We have a connection)"

"(She likes you)" Reeko repeated as we got to Master Skywalker's office. "(Don't break her heart)"

"(I'll keep that in mind)" I promised.

"Come in!" a voice called from inside.

"(Good luck)" Reeko said as he walked back down the hall. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the spacious office.

Sitting as usual at his desk was Master Skywalker. Leaning against the wall behind him holding a small child in her arms was a gorgeous woman with red-gold hair and a fiercely proud look. That, I concluded, could only be Mara Jade, the other Master Skywalker. Sitting to my left were Rosh and Jaden, both of whom regarded me with concern.

"Have a seat Revan," Master Skywalker gestured.

"How are you feeling? Better?" he queried after I had taken a seat.

"Yes, Master Skywalker," I confirmed. "Bacta does wonders."

"Agreed," the Jedi Master gave a wry smile. "Do you know why we asked you here?"

"I imagine it has to do with what happened on Dantooine," I carefully replied.

"Correct," nodded Skywalker.

"Before you say anything, I swear to you that I have nothing to do with this Revan's Empire Reborn or whatever they're calling themselves," I quickly stated. "Before three days ago, I had no idea that they existed. Telling them the locations of the other star maps was an accident, pure and simple."

"We believe you," Jaden said.

"I am really so—" I continued to ramble. "You do?"

"Of course," Rosh snorted. "We've been Jedi long enough to know when someone is telling the truth or not. You may have been foolish, but you are guilty of nothing worse than being an honest fool."

"Thanks, I think," I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to decide how to take that.

"If anything Revan we're proud of you," Jaden continued more softly. "You were tempted by the dark side and resisted. That was your real test and you passed with flying colors."

"Wasn't much of a test," I shrugged. "All they did was offer me power and I have no desire for that."

I could feel the shock roll through the Force as the four Jedi stared at me in astonishment.

"A Jedi that doesn't want power," Mara spoke for the first time, scrutinizing me with her brilliant green eyes. "Who would have thought such a thing could exist?"

"Honestly, being the head of an empire just sounds miserable," I answered. "I can't fathom how anyone _would_ want that."

"Interesting," Skywalker mused getting an intense look in his sky blue eyes.

"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" I questioned preparing to stand. "Because if so, I think there are some other things I should be doing like getting well."

"No, there's more," Skywalker raised his hand. "We wanted to talk to you about this cult that you ran into. Since you're the only one who has really dealt with them, at least the only one we know, that makes you the closest thing we have to an expert."

"There's not much to tell, at least not much more than what was reported," I told him.

"Humor us," Mara demanded.

For the next hour and a half, I told them everything of relevance that I could concerning our mission to Dantooine. In detail I recited everything I could remember of our conversations, as well as the star map shrine. I even divulged the details of my visions, which piqued Master Skywalker's curiosity. The whole time no one interrupted me.

"Is that everything?" Master Skywalker questioned as I wrapped up.

"That I can remember, yeah," I told him.

"This is disturbing news," Skywalker leaned back in his chair. "The Alliance is still recovering from the devastation of the Yuuzhan Vong War. We are very vulnerable right now so even a small Sith cult such as this one, armed with a weapon like this Star Forge, could pose a major threat."

"With all due respect sir, I don't think the Star Forge is a weapon," I spoke up, drawing a raised eyebrow. "The way it was talked about by the droid, I got the impression that it was more of a factory of some kind. He referred to his creators as the 'Builders.' Also it's called a Star _Forge_ which indicates building instead of destroying."

"What's your point?" Mara asked curiously.

"I think that the Star Forge is a super-factory of some kind that is powered by a star," I guessed. "I'm no engineer so don't ask me how that would work. But the droid also said that the Builders had created and Infinite Empire. While that might hyperbole, there's no reason to think that an ancient race conquered and controlled a large extent of the galaxy. If the Star Forge was a super-factory that could quickly turn out large quantities of ships, droids, weapons, and other things then the Builders could keep up with the demands of controlling their empire."

"Interesting theory," Skywalker noted thoughtfully. "Either way though we can't let the Star Forge fall into the Sith's hands."

"Or the Empire's," Mara added.

"Jaden, Rosh," Skywalker turned to my masters, "I want you to keep your students here for the time being. Especially Revan as this cult seems to have taken a special interest in him." That made me feel wonderful. "They need more training to be ready to handle this new threat."

"Very well Master Skywalker," they nodded in unison.

"Mara, we need to gather the council," he told his wife. "This demands our immediate attention."

"Alright everyone, pay attention," Rosh boomed to us early the next morning.

We were sitting in a semicircle in one of the small gardens outside the temple. It was the first day of training since our dramatic mission to Dantooine. Despite acing our tests, certainly doing better than the other groups, we were confined to training on Ossus for the time being, per Master Skywalker's orders. So while other students were gallivanting across the galaxy we were stuck here practicing moving some rocks. While I understood the rationale behind it, I found unfair that we had to be punished because a wannabe-Sith had crashed our crystal hunt.

"I know that you would rather be out saving the galaxy or something instead of being stuck here with us," he continued. "But since a Sith cult seems to have taken a special interest in you," everyone glared at me.

"Hey, I didn't ask for this," I defended. "Besides they're after _me_ specifically so how do you think I feel about all this?"

"Since a Sith cult seems to have taken a special interest in you," Rosh repeated slightly annoyed. "Master Skywalker has decided that you will need special training to handle them in the future."

"(Are we going to learn how to shoot lightening?)" Reeko asked eagerly. At least he was mostly back to normal.

"Yes and no," Jaden answered. "Since it is clear that you will be dealing with Sith, you need to learn how to defend yourself against the dark side powers of the Force."

"This is a point where Jaden and I disagree on," Rosh picked up. "But Jaden's belief is that there are such things as dark side powers. The Force is a tool and it is how you use it that determines dark and light. Given my history with the dark side, I am inclined to disagree. In any event, in time we will teach you how to use dark side powers such as lightening and drain as well as others so that you will have them at your disposal. Whether you use them or not is a personal choice that is up to. But for now we are going to focus on defense."

"There are basically two ways to defend against dark side attacks, depending on what they are," Jaden continued. "One is with your lightsaber. Powers such as lightening or drain that form a physical connection between you and your attacker can be blocked by a lightsaber. A Force wave, which is a very strong Force push can be deflected."

"Other attacks, like scream, choke, or panic are not physical and cannot be blocked with a lightsaber," Rosh added. "Those can only be blocked by shielding yourself in the Force."

"Force shielding is very important as it can make you immune to almost any Force attack," Jaden told us. "As Revan's opponent found out the hard way," she winked at me, "leaving yourself open to Force attacks can have lethal consequences."

"How you create a Force shield is by feeling the Force energy around you and then pushing it back, creating a sort of Force bubble around you. The Force will wash around you, but not through you making it very difficult for any attack to directly affect you," Rosh explained.

"Like a deflector dish," Satori analogized.

"Yeah, exactly," Rosh nodded approvingly. "But there are two drawbacks to this. One, a Force shield requires a tremendous amount of concentration to maintain which has two results: first, it makes fighting back difficult because your focus is split. Secondly it is mentally and physically draining to keep the shield up and thus Jedi usually can maintain a shield for a few seconds at most.

"Two, because you are pushing the Force away from you, your connection to it is lessened which often reduces your ability to use other powers. For these reasons, it is your ability to raise the shield that is important, not how well you can maintain it."

"Could we have a demonstration?" Salty asked. I instantly cringed, expecting to be fried by either Rosh or Jaden.

But to my surprise, our masters just nodded to each other.

"That's a good idea," Jaden agreed. "Rosh?"

"Agreed," my male master nodded, retreating several steps.

Facing each other they braced themselves. Jaden extended her hand and I felt the air around me begin to tingle.

I recognized that feeling from when Malak had blasted me. Before I could control it, a pit of fear opened up in my stomach and I felt my muscles tense.

White energy crackled from Jaden's fingertips and arced towards Rosh. As soon as the lightening formed, Rosh ran his hands over himself, leaving the air immediately around him shimmering blue.

The lightening slammed into him, causing all of us to wince. But instead of frying him, the bolts crackled and snapped in a ball around him. A moment later Jaden relented her attack leaving an unarmed Rosh standing in the midst of smoking ozone. Both were breathing hard.

"Wow," Salty whispered.

"As you can see," Rosh explained. "This technique can save your life."

"Now it's your turn," Jaden told us.

For the next half hour we focused ourselves on trying to feel the Force and the pushing it away in a bubble. As usual, Atris got it almost immediately. I guess she had a shield around her from everyone else so creating a physical one was already second nature.

I got it fairly easily myself. Ever since Jaden had showed me what the Force sounded like, I had gotten used to listening and feeling the energy around him. It was like constantly being in a shower. In a sense it went against my nature to push it away, but once I did, I found it fairly easy to maintain.

I had just put up a shield when all of the plants around me suddenly bent as if a wind had blown over. Looking behind me, I saw Jaden standing there, palm extended.

"Very good Revan," she complimented. "You've taken very well to a shield. Come with me, there is something else I wish to show you."

Confused I followed her out of the garden down a path to a small secluded meadow far from the temple and the others. Stopping she turned and faced me.

"What I am about to teach you you may not ever discuss with any of the other students," Jaden warned.

"Okay," I said slowly, not entirely following.

"I'm about to teach you Force lightening," she explained simply.

"Isn't that dangerous?" I raised both eyebrows.

"When you first came here, Rosh and I were uncomfortable teaching you," she replied. "We thought that because of your past, you would be more susceptible to the dark side than most students. Don't misunderstand," she added hastily, "it isn't that we didn't think that you'd be a good Jedi. It was more that we felt under qualified to train you correctly.

"It would seem, however, that we were wrong," she continued. "Given how you handled the offer Malak gave you, it would seem that the dark side has no real appeal to you, almost as if you are immune to its power. That, in and of itself, is interesting. I don't know of many, if any Jedi your age that could have resisted Malak's offer. I know I couldn't have."

"I don't know," I replied. "It just didn't seem that interesting."

"He offered you the universe," Jaden laughed softly, "And, if this Star Forge is real, that offer was not hyperbole. Part of me still cannot believe you so easily dismissed all that power."

"Life Lesson 99," I said with a shrug. "The more power you have the more complicated your life gets and if there is one thing I don't like, it's a complicated life."

"Then you should not have become a Jedi," she gave me a wry smile. "But that is a wise observation. You are a wiser man than most I've met and because of that, I feel that it is safe to teach you lightening. Whether you use it or not is your choice, but it is something I think you should have in your arsenal."

"Sounds good to me," I replied.

"While I believe that no Force power is inherently light or dark, some are fueled by things that lead to the dark side and others light," Jaden began to explain to me. "Lightening is one that leads to the dark side. It is fueled by emotion, specifically passion and anger. Releasing lightening means connecting your inner passions to the Force and then channeling them out."

"I thought that we were supposed to not feel anger or passion," I furrowed my eyebrows. "I mean, isn't part of the Code there is no emotion, there is peace?"

"Correct," confirmed Jaden, "which is why lightening is so dangerous. However while we can preach that we are emotionless all we want, the emotions are still there. Emotional control is not rejecting your feelings, but controlling where they go."

"That'll make Life Lesson 115," I commented.

"Glad I can contribute to the collection," Jaden chuckled. "But this is the real difference between Sith and Jedi. Jedi do not deny their emotions, at least wise Jedi don't, but rather they control how their emotions are used. For a Jedi, emotions are tools. The Sith on the other hand are at the mercy of their emotions and passions. They call it freedom but really it is slavery. They do whatever they feel like at any given moment, unable to give real thought to the consequences. Anger, lust, ecstasy, and so on. They live a chaotic life, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake before ultimately self-combusting."

"That is why the dark side appears to be so much more powerful than the light," I surmised. "Because with all that unrestrained passion, it gives a burst of power that the light side cannot give."

"Very astute," Jaden complimented. "The dark side is like strapping a Star Destroyer engine to a landspeeder. Over a very short distance, that speeder will outpace any other."

"But in the long run it will self-destruct," I finished the simile.

"Correct," Jaden confirmed. "That is also why the light side is in the end stronger."

"So how does this relate to lightening?"

"Using lightening, like any of the other dark side powers, is to walk a very fine line between unleashing your passion and maintaining control," Jaden answered. "If you let your anger consume, you will lose control of the lightening and start your path down the dark side. But if you don't use it at all, you will not be able to summon any lightening at all."

"How do I do that?" I wondered.

"Believe it or not," Jaden said, "Lightening can be very therapeutic. It is a way of letting go of your anger, releasing it into the air."

"What do you have to be angry about?" I asked.

"Many things," she replied with a tight smile. "But that is not your concern. Often battle provides the necessary fuel to channel lightening but for now I want you to look inside yourself and think about what makes you angry."

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I thought about being yanked around by the Jedi, how these new Sith had been manipulating my entire life, how I felt my teammates were being unfair to me, and I felt that everything was spinning out of my control.

"Very good," Jaden said from behind me. "Now connect that anger to the Force."

I reached out the buzzing energy around me, feeling it wrap around me. Mentally I connected the Force with my rage, feeling the energy starting to build up inside me.

"Now extend your arm," she directed. "And release your anger."

As I reached out my arm, I mentally broke the dam. Energy coursed through me so powerfully that I thought it would rip me apart. Every hair on my body stood on end as electricity exploded from my fingertips.

It was an impressive light show as sparks and bolts of lightening showered around me. I continued to pour my anger into the Force as I felt it drain from me.

"And stop," Jaden commanded

At first I was afraid that I couldn't stop the waves of energy washing through me. Even though it was draining out of me, I felt like my anger was building at the same time. I felt overwhelmed.

Reaching back to my training, I took a few calming breaths and tried to internally shut off the valve. It was slow at first, but after several moments I was able to stop the flow and the lightening ceased, leaving me panting and exhausted.

"How was it?" Jaden asked thoughtfully.

"Terrifying," I replied. "I felt as if I was going to be ripped apart, it was so powerful. I'm not sure I want to do that again."

"Good," she nodded, clearly relieved. "You should have a healthy fear of it. It is Jedi who are flippant and frivolous with the dark side that are in the most danger of falling to it. But you understand it's power and know how overwhelming it can be."

"Believe me I won't forget," I told her, shuddering. "When you told me to stop, for a moment I didn't think I could. I thought I had lost control."

"But you didn't," she admonished. "And that is the important thing. Even though it was hard, you still stayed in control of your emotions. How do you feel?"

For a moment I didn't understand the question. But then I realized that I actually felt a lot better. A lot of my anger was just…gone.

"Strangely better," I said, internally examining myself.

"You are learning how to control your anger and let it go," she smiled proudly. "It will get easier with practice, though for now I would ask that you practice only with me around."

"As you wish, master," I told her.

"Well Padawan," she teased, "it is almost time for lightsaber practice and you need to comb your hair."

I patted my head only to find my hair was still standing on end.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: We get a mission

I swung hard at my master. Jaden calmly deflected the yellow training blade with the left side of her training staff and then caught my follow up stab with the right side, putting her weapon in between my twin blades and leaving me wide open. A heartbeat later, she whipped her weapon around, cracking it down on the spot between my right shoulder and neck.

Had these been real weapons, I would've been cut in two. Even still, the training blade hit like a durasteel rod and burned like a blaster bolt. I dropped to my knees and rubbed the sore spot.

"You're losing focus," Jaden observed as I stumbled back to my feet.

"Let's go again," I challenged as I brought my twin blades to bear again.

"No," Jaden shook her head, deactivating her training staff. "We're done for the day."

"Come on," I growled not lowering my stance. "I need to the practice."

"We've been going for three hours," the older Jedi wiped some of the sweat from her eyes.

"Let's go again," I yelled springing forward to attack her.

Jaden lifted her palm and unleashed a massive telekinetic blast that sent me slamming into the far wall of the sparring chamber. A couple of other Jedi shot us a curious expression before continuing their practice.

"I said we're done for the day," Jaden repeated firmly. "I don't know what's gotten into you the last few weeks, but you need to chill out. I want you to go to the garden and meditate on maintaining balance and calm in your life." She retrieved her actual lightsaber from the far bench and headed to the changing room.

I fought down my annoyance and anger. While I had made great strides in the last month, I was still far from Jaden's match with either the blade or the Force. Once again she had shown me up, humiliated me in front of other Jedi, dismissively launching me across the room as if I were nothing more than a mosquito. That was starting to get annoying.

She was right, though. I had lost balance and calm the last month. But it didn't take any meditation on my part to know why: Malak.

Ever since my duel with him on Dantooine, I had thrown myself into training with a vigor and energy that I had never done before. I would spend hours dueling with Jaden, honing my lightsaber skills to the point where I was almost on a master with Jar'kai. Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. I still couldn't consistently beat her or Rosh, but I was closing the gap swiftly.

But it still wasn't enough. Malak had been the better man that day; it was only by a lucky trick that I had managed to beat him and even then he still nearly fried me. It was fortunate that I had been alone; I shuddered to think of what might've happened had any of the others been there.

Deep down, I knew that I would face off against him again. Maybe it was the Force telling me my fate or something just my gut instincts, but I knew we would battle again. I was determined that I would be ready for him this time.

So I had thrown myself into training. I worked relentlessly on mastering the Force powers we were being taught. Lightning came much more naturally to me now and I could control it much better. Its raw power still frightened me a bit and I was reluctant to use it, but I knew that I could in a pinch. As for the rest, I was at or above even Atris's level now. When we faced, I would be ready for him.

"Hey hotshot!" as strong, feminine voice jarred me out of my thoughts as I exited the main Temple and headed for one of the outlying gardens.

I whirled around to see a stunningly beautiful woman about 22 or 23 in an orange flight suit regarding me with an amused expression and one hand on her hip. She was fairly short, probably about 5'5", with long brunette hair and gorgeous dark brown eyes. Despite the best efforts of the bright orange flight suit she was wearing, I could tell that she had a near-perfect figure.

"I hear you're looking for a sparring partner," she called from across the way.

Before I could react, she produced a lightsaber, igniting the bright blue blade and lunged at me, clearing the distance in a single, Force-aided, bound. I barely had time to process what was happening and get my own weapon up in time, catching hers centimeters from my face.

"Are you crazy?!" I exclaimed as I retreated a couple of paces.

"I'm a Jedi," she smirked challengingly at me. "So of course." Then she attacked again.

I had thought that Jaden and Rosh were good, but this girl was on a whole other level than them. Her attacks were lightning fast without giving anything up on defense. It all I could do just stay out of the way of her searing blade. The fact that we were using real lightsabers that could kill us only added to my sudden surge of adrenaline.

Shoving back with the Force, I quickly considered my options. Whoever this chick was, she was far too strong and fast for me to attack head on. She was also far too skilled with the Force for me to punch through there. My only hope was to outlast her and so I dropped into Soresu.

"Soresu?" she commented on my stance. "How cute."

She struck again, swinging high and then low so fast it was like she had two blades instead of one. I had perfected my Soresu to the point that it was like there was a force field around me half the length of my blade, which is the only thing that kept me from losing my head or my feet or both.

But that was just the beginning. The woman kept up her constant barrage, swinging and stabbing while I continued to parry each strike just out of range. More than once, I could feel the heat of her blade on my skin.

It was then I realized the flaw in my strategy. My muscles were already tired from the intense hours of sparring with Jaden and they soon began to tire. I needed a new plan and fast.

Remembering a certain technique of Niman users, I decided now would be as good a time as any to try it. I just hoped that I didn't accidently kill (or myself) in the process. Reaching out with the Force, I grabbed her and pulled her into the path of my arcing weapon.

It almost worked, almost. She was caught off-guard by the sudden Force attack but recovered much faster than Malak had. Immediately she threw up a Force shield about her and I felt my grip slip. Taking back control of her own momentum, she angled to her left, harmlessly behind my swinging weapon and then struck me in the side of the head.

I collapsed to the ground, my lightsaber dropping from my grip, my head reeling. When they did open after several moments, I saw a blue glow stick hovering between my eyes.

"I give," I moaned in pain. She withdrew the weapon and offered me a hand which I took.

"Not bad," she acknowledged, panting. "I haven't had someone push me like that in a while. You _are_ talented."

"You still beat me," I sourly pointed out. "And who the hell do you think you are pulling a stunt like that anyway?"

"You mean you don't know who I am?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Should I?" I returned the raised eyebrow. She did look familiar, but I couldn't quite place the face.

"Jaina Solo," she extended a hand. "And you must be Revan, the gifted swordsman I've been hearing so much about."

"Glad to know that I'm famous," I grumped. "Still, _what the hell_?"

"Oh that?" she referenced our impromptu bout. "I am the Sword of the Jedi, so when I hear of some new super swordsman, I _had_ to check you out for myself. And you didn't disappoint."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment," I frowned.

"Relax kid," she patted me on the shoulder. "It means you're pretty good."

"Thanks," I mumbled. "I have to go meditate or something."

"Oh?" she cocked her head and appraised me. "I don't think you need to meditate as much as talk to someone. Let's go for a walk."

"Seriously?" I blinked at her. "You try to kill me and now you expect me to have some kind of heart to heart?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she nodded simply. "Come on."

I have no idea why, but I followed her. A couple of minutes later we were in a secluded garden and she patted a rock next to her.

"Spill," she ordered when I got myself situated.

Suddenly it all came out. My duel with Malak, my fears at what might happen next time, my frustrations at my whole life being someone's pet project. All the while Jaina listened quietly and patiently to my story.

"If it makes you feel any better, I know how you feel," she said when I had finished.

"You do?" I said, cocking my head.

"Sure," she nodded. "I'm Jaina Solo. My mom is the on and off President of the Republic or Alliance. My uncle is the head of the Jedi Order. Do you really think I had much of a choice in becoming a Jedi? My life has been only series of predestined events, it feels like."

"Doesn't that bother you?" I asked.

"Sometimes," she admitted, levitating a small rock. "But then I think back over all the things I've done in my life, like defeating the Yuuzhan Vong or the Shadow Academy. I think of all the people I was 'predestined' to help and then I don't regret the twists and turns my life has taken.

"The fact is Revan, that someone is always going to be pulling our strings. Life is complicated and messy; there are always things beyond our control that will shape our circumstances," Jaina added. "There's nothing we can do about that; we can only chose what we do with the circumstance we have."

"Sounds like a good Life Lesson," I remarked.

"Life Lesson?" she raised an eyebrow and I explained.

"Not a bad idea," she laughed. "I'm glad I can contribute."

"I'll add it as Lesson number 115," I cracked a smile for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"You really needed someone to talk to," Jaina observed. "You're wound tighter than an overloaded X-Wing engine."

"It's been a frustrating month," I said somberly. "After everything that happened on Dantooine, I feel like my team doesn't trust me anymore."

"And because they don't trust you, you feel like you can't talk to them?" Jaina surmised.

"I don't really blame them, to quite honest" I acknowledged. "There are plenty of things in my story that don't add up right. I probably wouldn't trust me either."

"So instead of venting, you've been bottling all of these emotions inside," Jaina remarked. "That's not healthy."

"I know," I nodded. "But I've never felt particularly comfortable around them anyway and now I just can't talk to them. I don't think they'd listen anyway."

"Have you given them a chance?" Jaina queried.

"Well, no not really," I admitted.

"It sounds like you've been the one separating yourself from them, not the other way around," Jaina observed.

"But they feel like I've broken their trust," I protested.

"Maybe," Jaina said. "Or maybe they're just as confused and concerned as you."

"I don't see why they should be," I replied. "The cult is after me, not them."

"Not true," Jaina shook her head. "Because you are a team, what threatens one, threatens all of you. You're teammates understand this; what they don't understand is why you are pushing them away."

"To protect them," I instantly answered. "This is my fight."

"You really don't understand what it means to be in a team," Jaina chuckled. "The key to beating Malak isn't going to be training harder and harder, but relying on your team. That, after all, is what separates you from him."

"Huh?"

"Think about your history classes," Jaina leaned back a little. "Why have the Sith Empires almost always crumbled after such a short time?"

"Because of internal strife," I answered automatically. "Because Sith philosophy desires power above all else, all members of the Empire fight for it. This inevitably, and often quickly, leads to civil war which causes the Empire to self-destruct."

"Precisely," Jaina nodded. "And the Jedi have endured because of the opposite. We value harmony and peace above all else. As a result, we have formed a cohesive family, one that always has each other's backs. An attack upon one Jedi has always been attack upon all.

"That is going to be your greatest strength in your fight against Malak. You have the strength of your comrades to draw upon while he stands ultimately alone. Oh sure he may be part of a big organization, but they would stab him in the back in heartbeat. Such is the way of the Sith."

"That goes against my cardinal Life Lesson," I sucked in a deep breath. "Never trust anyone."

"To win this fight, you are going to have to," Jaina admonished. "When I lost my brother, I thought a lot like you. I didn't think I could trust anyone or rely on anyone again. I stood alone against the Vong and threw everything I was into beating them to space dust. For a while, it even worked. But as I isolated myself further and further from those that cared about me, I slipped farther and farther into the dark side. I was fortunate to have caught myself in time and pulled out before I was too far gone. Don't make the same mistake."

I sat quietly and absorbed her words. I had always heard that Jaina was rash and bold, but she was striking me as strangely wise. Perhaps she was and I was getting to see a rare side of her. She had attacked me with a lightsaber after all.

"A-hem," a small voice called to us.

Jaina and I whirled around to see Atris standing there, the Arkanians white eyes emotionless but her body tense.

"I'm Jaina," the older Jedi introduced, sticking out her hand.

"Atris," the Arkanian flatly replied, ignoring the hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but Master Skywalker requests Revan immediately."

I raised my eyebrows. "Did he say why?"

"No."

"Uh, okay," I stood to follow my teammate. "Thanks Jaina. I really needed that."

"Hey, no problem," she shrugged. "Any time you need to talk, give me a call."

"I will," I promised as Atris began leading me back to the temple.

"What was that about?" she asked tersely.

"Nothing," I answered, confused at the question. "She attacked me and then we talked."

"You talked?" she sounded almost accusatory.

"Yeah," I said. "I needed to vent and she volunteered." More like interrogated, I added to myself.

"You know you can always talk to me," she pointed out.

"I guess," I wasn't getting why she seemed so annoyed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," she almost snapped. "Nothing at all. Good luck with Master Skywalker." She left me at his door and then quickly walked away, leaving me very confused.

"You wanted to see me, Master Skywalker?" I said, stepping into his office.

"Yes we did, sit down," the Jedi Master gestured to a chair. I noted that Rosh and Jaden were there too.

"The council and I have been discussing the development of Revan's Cult," he began. "From what we've gathered, they were born from the ashes of Marko Ragnos's cult lead by Tavion. They've spent the last fifteen years or so biding their time, gathering followers and resources. We don't know much about them beyond that, such has who their leader is or how widespread their organization is. But we do know that it is fairly large. There have been reports of them springing up all over the galaxy."

"What does this have to do with me?" I had getting a sinking feeling I knew the answer.

"The key to finding and defeating them is to find these Star Maps and then the Star Forge itself and destroying it," Skywalker continued. "The council has decided to that you should lead the hunt for these Maps."

"Me?" I wasn't overly surprised, more annoyed. "Look I'm just a kid with a few months of training. Maybe Jaden or Rosh or Jaina or someone else should do it."

"No, it has to be you," Master Skywalker firmly said. "The council believes, as do I, that you are Revan's Heir. This prophecy, coupled with your visions makes that the most logical conclusion."

"Hold on," I cut in. "If I'm Revan's Heir, then according to the prophecy, I'm supposed to lead the Sith in conquest of the galaxy. Isn't putting me in charge of finding these maps kind of risky?"

"_Perhaps_ that is what the prophecy means," the Jedi Master pointed out. "Prophecies are fickle things, never quite saying what they mean. My own father's history is a testament to that. At any rate, you seem to have a special connection to these things and the Sith have a one month head start on looking for them. It may mean handing you the galaxy, but that is a risk we are simply going to have to take."

"When do I leave?" I resigned with a sigh.

"You and your team will leave within the week," Skywalker corrected. "As soon as you have completed the final test from Jaden and Rosh."

"My team?" I questioned. "Is that really a good idea? This is my fight, not theirs."

"Revan's Cult is extensive," Skywalker pointed out. "And if your experience on Dantooine means anything, then it's you need all the help you can get. Your team goes with you."

"Great," I mumbled under my breath. "Where do we start?"

"Kashyyyk," Skywalker informed. "There's been a dispute between a couple of the villages and they have requested Jedi intervention, which is strange for the Wookies to do, but it gives you an excellent cover. Rosh will go with you to mediate the dispute while you and your team poke around for the Star Map."

"Oh goody," I sarcastically replied. "Anything else?"

"Only this," Skywalker looked at me carefully. "Be willing to trust your team, Revan. I know that it is hard for you to work with others. Been there; that's why it took me so long to begin training others. But you _can't_ succeed on your own."

"That's the second time I've heard that today," I remarked as I got up and left.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Today we're doing something a little different," Rosh informed us as we gathered in our little garden after breakfast the next morning. "First though, Revan, tell them what Master Skywalker told you last night."

All eyes turned to me and I awkwardly stood to address my classmates.

"I don't need to go into the details of what happened on Dantooine," I started. "Since then, the council has been looking into Revan's Cult and come up with very few answers. What we do know is that it is related to Ragnos's Cult a few years back and it is well organized. However, the council feels the key to stopping them is finding the Star Maps and the Star Forge and destroying them. And they have chosen us for this mission."

"It's about damn time," Satori snarled. She had been going a little crazy being cooped up.

"Why us?" Salty, more or less the voice of reason, asked.

"Me, mostly," I sighed. "This Cult seems to think that I'm Revan's Heir, whatever the hell that means, and has taken an interest in me. Also I seem to have some sort of connection through the Force to these maps so I should be able to find them fairly easily."

"(So basically we're using you like a Voxyn?)" Reeko piped up, referring to the Jedi-sniffing beasts that inhabited Myrkr.

"Yeah, basically," I confirmed, inwardly bristling at the comparison despite how apt it was.

"Just so we get off this damned rock," Satori huffed. "When do we leave?"

"In a couple of days," Jaden said. "Rosh will be going to Kashyyyk to mediate a dispute there. You will go with him to observe, at least that's your cover. While there, your mission is to find the Star Map there."

"But before we go, you must complete one last trial," Rosh held up his hand before we could protest. "This will be the least physically demanding trial yet, but the most mentally and spiritually demanding. Your trial is to build your lightsaber."

I thought Reeko would explode through the stratosphere. Salty's lekku were dancing. Even Satori looked pleased or at least less grumpy than usual. Atris of course sat there stone-faced.

"First you must build a hilt for your weapon," Rosh instructed. "It should be something unique, that reflects your personality and journey. Think hard and meditate on what it should be."

I didn't have to. I knew exactly what my hilt was going to be. Running back to our room, I pulled out my footlocker and dug around the bottom. Within a few seconds, I produced it. The chrome cylinder was shiny and smooth except for the bright red button a little less than a third of the way down from the top. Above it, the neck narrowed slightly and a bronze band wrapped around before flaring out again at the end.

Malak's lightsaber.

I had kept it after our fight as a trophy and reminder. Now I was going to turn it into _my_ weapon. Maybe that was spiteful, but I didn't care.

"What's next?" I asked my instructors upon returning. They looked at the weapon with raised eyebrows, but said nothing.

"Take the hilt and meditate on what it means to be a Jedi," Rosh said. "Then, when you are ready, replace the crystal with your own."

Going to where Jaina and I had talked the other day, I placed the hilt on the rock and began to meditate.

Instantly I was immersed in the Force. Images and thoughts flashed before me. I saw myself battling Malak on a ruined temple in a tropical land. I saw myself defeat him and have him at my mercy. "What will you do?" the Force seemed to ask.

I watched myself show mercy. I watched myself kill him. I saw myself become a conquer, decimating the galaxy as I raised my flag on world after world. I saw myself becoming a sage Jedi Master, teaching young kids like myself the ways of the Force. I saw myself living in peace alone on a distant planet. And then it all went white.

"You think your destiny is decided," a familiar voice said to me. "But it is still your choice."

I turned to see the same man saw in the cave. He still had the same presence of command, his dark eyes flashing. But this time I knew who he was.

"Revan," I guessed.

"Yes," he gave a tired smile. "You feel the pull of circumstance on your life, but your life is still your own making. Circumstances are tools, not restraints. Your destiny is not decided by anyone but you. Savior, conqueror; hero, villain. Which you are is your choice alone. I know for I was all of these things."

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked him.

"What you believe to be right," he answered and the vision faded.

I found myself sitting in the garden at night. Apparently an entire day had just passed me by. I felt weak and exhausted and a bit confused.

But a lot of what he said was beginning to resonate. I am not a pawn of the Jedi or the Sith; I am who _I_ chose to be. I am not defined by Jedi or Sith or even being Revan's Heir. I am defined by the choices I make, not the circumstances I find myself in. Somehow, that was an encouraging thought.

I looked at the rock and saw the lightsaber sitting there. Feeling something hard in my hand, I opened it to find a crystal with a red hue. Scrunching my eyebrows, I reached out and activated my new blade. It exploded into life a vibrant green, humming in the night air.

I make my own fate, I decided. Tossing the red crystal in the air, I cut through it with one sweep of my new blade, vaporizing it. Then deactivating the blade, I returned to where Jaden and Rosh were waiting with the rest of my team.

"You ready?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I nodded.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"GAH!" I jerked awake, sheets soaked in sweat, product of another Force-inspired nightmare.

We were taking an Academy-owned freighter that was equipped with several sleeping compartments, one of which I had been sacked out in. It was a ten-hour trip from Ossus to Kashyyyk and in an attempt at discretion we had left late at night. Rosh and Satori divided driving into five-hour shifts while the rest of us crashed. I didn't want to, feeling slightly guilty for making them stay up while we slept, but everyone told me to get some rest; Atris had practically drugged me.

Admittedly I was pretty tired. I had been pushing myself far too hard in training the last month and had been worn down. Adding on to that, the last couple of days had been trying to say the least. After a month of secluded training, ruminating over the Sith who seemed to be targeting me, everything was moving now.

There were so many things unknown. Who were these guys? Why were they after me? Where were they? Up to now, all this had been academic. Now it was becoming real and it was starting to scare me. And then there was that other thing.

My nightmare, another "gift" from the Force, wasn't helping. It left me feeling more tired than I was already and there was no way I was going to get back to sleep now, which was annoying to say the least.

Throwing on a nice brown Jedi robe, I padded out past the other sleeping chambers and the common "tactical" center up to the cockpit. Rosh was sitting by himself, dozing lightly as the ship powered through hyperspace on autopilot. Not knowing what else to do, I slipped into the co-pilot's seat and watched the star lines streak by.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" my master asked tiredly as he stirred.

"Nightmares," I curtly answered. "When do we get there?"

Rosh checked one of the displays. "Two hours," he reported. "Tell me about the nightmare."

"I'd rather not," I replied as I continued to stare out the window.

"Come on," Rosh said. "I'm your master; it's my job to help you out. Besides, I've been around the block a few times. I might be able to offer you some wisdom."

I studied him carefully for a moment. I didn't particularly get along well with most of the Jedi. Not that I disliked or was disliked by anyone, I just didn't really make friends for multitude of reasons. Partly it was because I'm an introvert and partly because everyone in the Academy knew what happened on Dantooine.

That had made me a lightning rod for debate: half the students thought I was a victim while the other half were convinced I was a traitor. Everyone regarded me with a level of suspicion, including my own teammates. I'm not a trusting person by nature to begin with and being under everyone's microscope didn't help. Atris and Jaina, by force, were really the only ones I felt comfortable talking to. Jaden too, but our relationship had become strained over the last couple of weeks.

This line of thought brought me back to Rosh. Between him and Jaden, I got along with Jaden much better. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but there was something off in our relationship. We just didn't click. But he was my master and I should trust him, right? And maybe he could help me figure out what it all meant and show me what to do.

Oh, what the hell.

"It was a vision about the Star Map I'm looking for, I think," I told him. "At least I think it is; it looked like the Star Map I saw in Dantooine. Anyway, it was in a forest surrounded by a bunch of vines."

"Of course it was," Rosh cut in. "The entire planet is a forest, not counting the ocean and a huge forest at that. It's like a nature version of Coruscant with trees instead of buildings kilometers high. In fact, the Wookie villages are built in the trees, not on the forest floor. They call it the 'Shadowlands' and only the bravest warriors and hunters ever go down there on account of it being filled with huge, deadly beasts."

"Let me get this straight," I leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms, "I'm supposed to look for an ancient Star Map that could be located anywhere on a planet that is infested deadly creatures?"

Rosh winced. "Pretty much, yeah," he admitted. "Sorry."

"It's just icing on the cake," I shrugged.

"What else did you see?" my master pressed.

"A battle," I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as the images replayed unbidden. "There were Sith there, attacking us. I don't know how many; it was too hazy to see. What freaked me out was that they weren't attacking me; they were attacking the others."

"Did you see how the fight turned out?" queried Rosh.

"No," I shook my head. "I woke up before I could find out."

"I suppose the Force wouldn't show you those things," Rosh sighed. "The Force never shows you anything concrete about the future because the future is constantly in motion. Visions don't show you what _will_ happen just what could happen."

"Then what the hell is the point?" I demanded. "If they don't show you the future, then all they do is just confuse you. I'd be better off without them."

"I had the same sentiments for years," chuckled the older man. "I used to hate getting the damn things. The thing that I really hated about them was that they would show me _that_ Jaden and I would get into some horrible mess but not _how_ we would get into it. They would paralyze me, forcing me to second and third guess every single thing I do because it _might_ lead to what I saw in my vision. Sometimes doing that got us into the mess; sometimes it didn't. It was maddening."

"You say used to," I noted. "What changed?"

"After one particular mess during the Vong War that nearly got Jaden killed, I refused to meditate anymore," Rosh leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "I just couldn't take the craziness of the visions. That's when Master Skywalker told me the secret of Force visions."

"What is it?"

"You keep track of Life Lessons, right?" Rosh asked, looking at me. I nodded. "Okay then," he continued. "Here's another one for you: While Force visions don't show you the real future, they do show you what you need to know to prepare for the future."

"Huh?" I cocked my head.

"One of your Life Lessons is that few things are as difficult to grasp, or important, as the obvious, right?" Again, I gave him a nod. "There's a lot of wisdom in that," he concurred. "But it's the subtle details that make the picture."

"I'll make that 117," I dryly remarked. "What do you mean?"

"Things are rarely, if ever, announced with a big sign," Rosh replied. "Often you have to piece together the picture from the small details that all around you.

"Let's take your vision for example," he continued. "Okay, it doesn't _exactly_ tell you the future, but it does tell you some important things to keep in mind as you prepare for the mission."

"Such as?"

"Let's think about what you saw," Rosh was in full teacher-mode. "One, you saw the Star Map. That tells us that you are meant to find the Star Map, which is encouraging."

"How?" I questioned. "I have absolutely no idea where to start."

"Listen to the Force," Rosh answered. "What the Force is telling you is that it _wants_ you to find the Star Map and it will guide you, if you're willing to listen."

"Okay then," I acknowledged. This was actually making sense. "What else?"

"On the less encouraging side," Rosh went on, "you saw the Sith, assumedly from Revan's Empire."

"Sith Empire," I corrected coldly. "Don't associate me with them."

"They are what they are," Rosh shrugged. "At any rate, you did see them in your vision which unfortunately means you will encounter them here so that's something you have to be aware of. They are waiting for you."

"What about them targeting my friends but not me?" I queried.

"It's your turn," Rosh turned the tables. "What do you think it means?"

I bit my bottom lip and squinted as I considered the question in context of the rest of my experience. "It means they're going to get involved," I concluded slowly.

"Good," Rosh nodded. "What else?"

"It also means that the Sith still want me to lead them," I supposed. "Obviously they still need me to find the rest of the Star Maps but they'll try to take out my support too, force me to join them."

"Excellent," smiled Rosh. "The Sith do want you, that much is certain. They tried to seduce you with power and that failed. So now they'll try fear, force you to join them to survive by cutting you off from your friends and getting you alone."

"Good luck with that," I snorted derisively. "I've been alone my entire life so that won't be a problem."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Rosh looked concerned. "That's how Tavion got me years ago. I was alone and scared and felt like I had no choice," he shuddered. "Don't underestimate the power of fear to warp you."

"What's the plan for when we get there?" I asked after a couple moments of silence. "I mean how do I go about poking around the Shadowlands or whatever they're called?"

"Good question," Rosh quickly ran his eyes over the control panel. "I was brought here to settle a dispute between two of the larger villages so that's where we'll start."

"Isn't that odd?" I wondered aloud. "I mean, don't people prefer to deal with these problems 'in-house'?"

"Typically yes," Rosh agreed. "But the Wookies got beat up pretty bad by the Vong and they've had a long appreciation for Jedi. Still it does seem strange and the timing is unusually convenient. But it's a chance so we jump at it."

"How do I find the Star Map?" I asked again.

"That's up to you," Rosh replied. "There aren't any records about that, as you know. No surprise there; it's what, 30,000 years old?"

"Something like that," I shrugged. "So what do I do?"

"Didn't you listen to the lecture?" questioned my master sharply. "You're not going to get a map to the Map. So look for the little details. Investigate, poke around, ask questions, explore. The negotiations will take a couple of days which should give you plenty of time for some detective work. If it'll help, meditate. The Force _wants_ you to find the Map; let it lead you."

Pausing, Rosh checked the chronometer again. "We have about an hour and a half left before we get to Kashyyyk. Why don't you go meditate until we get there?"

Meditation wasn't my strong suit. Sitting still and blocking out the world got you killed on Nar Shaada. Granted Ossus wasn't exactly the 'hood' but old habits die hard as they say. Still, Rosh did have a point and I didn't have anything better to do. So I went back to my room, sat on the floor cross-legged and let the Force wash over me.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Did it help?" Rosh asked an hour and a half later when we landed, snapping me out of my attempts at meditation.

"No," I sourly replied stretching and clipping my belt with both lightsabers around my waist. "Just static."

"Bummer," Rosh shrugged. "Come on, everyone else is in the common room."

The other four were waiting for us, standing around the holographic table. Reeko looked the same as always, I still couldn't really tell the difference in his body language. Satori glowered at me while Salty was chipper as always. Atris looked miserable her white hair still frayed everywhere.

"Okay Padawans, here's what's up," Rosh rubbed his hands together. "On the surface, we're here to diffuse rising tensions between two villages. That's my responsibility so follow my lead and maybe you'll learn some things about diplomacy on the way.

"But more importantly you're here to find the Star Map," Rosh continued. "Last night Revan had a vision that indicates there are probably Sith here so keep your eyes open. Got it?" We all nodded. "Okay then, let's go," Rosh motioned for us to follow him out of the ship.

We stepped out and I was immediately slammed with the cacophony of noise and smells. Our ship was landed on a platform suspended between several massive trees so high up that I couldn't see the forest floor below. Neither, for that matter, I couldn't see the sky as the trees continued up, their branches forming a thick canopy that blocked out the sun. Around us, birds and animals were screaming to the point that the jungle sounded like an out of tune choir.

"I hate nature," I quietly snarled as I tried to tune out the nauseating noise.

"How can you say that?" Saltanna snapped at me, her green lekku dancing excitedly. "It's so beautiful here. Listen to the life around us." Salty closed her eyes. "The Force is so vibrant here. Can't you feel it?"

"Oh I can feel it," I retorted, the Force practically tingling around me. "I can feel billions of predators who would love to make a snack out of me."

"Yeah," Rosh commented from behind. "Someone once described Kashyyyk as 'a layered deathtrap.' An accurate as a description as I've heard."

"That's comforting," I sarcastically shot back.

The truth was I was really freaked out. Thugs I could handle. Mob bosses I could handle. Security guards and police I could handle. Nature? Not so much, like at all. And now I was surrounded by it and that wasn't counting the Sith that I knew were waiting for me.

"Come on," Rosh told us, "let's go meet the natives."

We walked down the ramp to where a half dozen Wookiees were waiting for us. A couple of them were older, flanked with younger aides. They were tall and powerfully built, as all Wookiees are, with light brown fur dusted with gray.

"(Greetings Jedi Rosh, thank you for coming)" the one on the left stepped forward with a slight bow. "(I am Kryylior, chief of the village Aarklyr. With me is my assistant Rysluur)" He pointed his paw/hand to a smaller, younger associate with darker brown fur.

"(And I am Chraankur of the village Rwookrrorro with my associate Anduur)" the other chieftain stepped forward with his assistant.

When I saw the aide, I froze. He was young, maybe ten or so years older than myself with jet black fur and fierce dark eyes.

"Thank you," Rosh replied. "These are my students: Satori-Amd, Saltanna, Reeko, Atris of the House Katara, and Revan from Nar Shaada. They are here to observe diplomacy in action."

"(Greetings young Jedi)" the black Wookiee greeted, his eyes locked on me in a way that was eerily familiar.

"Uh yeah, thanks," I answered.

"Shall we begin?" Rosh questioned.

"(Yes, if you will follow us)" returned Chraankur.

_"What's wrong?"_ I heard Atris's voice sound in my head.

_"What do you mean?_ I asked.

A telepathic sigh crossed our link. _"Why do you always try to dodge me?"_ she queried tiredly. _"I know what you're feeling. So what's wrong?"_

_"I don't know,"_ I gave up and replied. _"There's something about that Wookiee, Anduur, that's really familiar. It's almost like…but no, that's impossible."_

_"Huh?"_ Atris wasn't following.

_"It's nothing,"_ I shrugged off, _"just old memories; that's all."_

_"Sure?"_

_"Yeah,"_ I nodded. _"Let's focus on our job, okay?"_

_"Okay,"_ Atris withdrew a little from my mind.

_"How do you always know what I'm feeling?"_ I asked her.

_"You're my friend and you're under a lot of stress,"_ Atris told me. _"It's really unfair what has happened to you. Ever since I've met you, all you've done is serve everyone else. You've been our leader, kept us focused when we panicked, put your life on the line for us and Reeko's family, and put up with our general nonsense. And now you're the target of this new Sith cult and now everything has been dumped on you. Someone needs to keep an eye on you and be there for you; so I am."_

_ "Thanks,"_ I was truly grateful. For the last month, it felt like the whole galaxy was against me. It was nice to know that someone was in my court. _"Does this work both ways? Can I feel your emotions?"_

_"I don't see why not,"_ Atris responded.

That made me feel guilty. Here was the closest thing I had to a friend who was making it her mission to be there for me and I had completely ignored her. Granted I was under a ton of stress with the whole Sith and find the Star Map thing, but that wasn't an excuse for ignoring her.

The Wookiees led us to a large hut/building built into the side of one of the massive trees, Wroshyr I think Reeko said they were called. They were _huge_. Reaching out with the Force, I sensed the vibrancy of life that filled just this one tree. I could feel predators hunting down their prey and the prey trying to scuttle away. It was as if an entire city were contained just in this one tree. Suddenly I began to understand why Salty and Reeko were so excited; it was pretty cool in a freaky sort of way.

Now I just had to keep away in the meeting.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The negotiations weren't as boring as I thought they would be: they were worse.

The issue on the table was some nonsense about landing rights or something equally pointless like that. I'm not saying that it was beneath us Jedi to stoop down to mingle with mortals, but the issue seemed simple enough to be settled in-house. I didn't make much sense as to why the Wookiees, a traditionally insulated society, to bring in a Jedi to mediate such a trivial matter.

And the negotiations were murderously boring. They would go back and forth and back and forth and around and around over the same damn point ad nausea. If I didn't understand Shyriiwook, I probably would've killed myself. How the other four stayed sane initially was a mystery to me until I realized that Reeko and Salty were meditating on the life around us and so mentally checked out; Satori was playing with some small mechanical device, and Atris…well I couldn't tell what Atris was doing. Meditating, it seemed like.

I was also wasting time. Somewhere hidden in this vast jungle was a Star Map that I was racing against the Sith to find and all I was doing was sitting here, listening to a couple of giant furballs bicker about landing rights.

Maybe Rosh was reading my thoughts, maybe he had noticed our boredom, or maybe he was feeling the same misery the rest of us were, but as the negotiations continued reach to impasse, he called a halt.

"Gentlemen, I think we would be best served if we took a recess for an hour," he announced rising.

"(I think you are right, Jedi Rosh)" Kryylior agreed. "(We could all use the break)"

"(Perhaps we could break for lunch)" suggested Chraankur.

All of the delegation spilled out of the conference room, which has to be the most rustic conference room in the galaxy, outside. It was around lunchtime and we were led by a gaggle of Wookiees to where Chraankur's people (we were in Rwookrrorro) had set out lunch. Interesting would be the most polite way to describe the food, but I'd eaten worse on the streets.

"Now would be a good time to investigate," Rosh quietly suggested as we went through getting our food.

I grabbed my plate and found a couple of older Wookiees sitting by themselves. They looked surprised to see me sit down beside them, even more so when I started speaking Shyriiwook.

"(Hello gentlemen)" I started. "(My name is Revan and I am a Jedi student here with the Jedi delegation. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?)"

"(You speak Shyriiwook?)" both of them blinked hard.

"(Amongst other things)" I answered. "(My best friend growing up was a Wookiee and he taught me Shyriiwook. May I ask you some questions?)"

"(Please do)" the Wookiee on the left replied. "(We are always glad to answer questions, especially to an outlander who learns our language. Ask your questions)"

"(How does one go about getting to the forest floor?)" I inquired.

"(Why would you want to do that?)" questioned the other Wookiee. "(The Shadowlands are very, very dangerous. Only our bravest warriors and hunters ever go down there and outlanders never go down there. Or at least never go down there and come back. The predators down there are the most dangerous in the world)"

"(I am looking for something)" I told them. "(The Force has shown me that there is an important artifact here, an ancient Star Map, on the forest floor. I must find it)"

"(A Star Map?)" the Wookiees looked uncomfortably at each other. "(We've never heard of such a thing.)"

"(Are you sure?)" I pressed. "(A Jedi named Revan visited here about 4000 years ago and found the Star Map)"

"(We've never heard of this Revan)" one of the Wookiees sharply shot down.

"(Okay)" I said slowly. "(Could you tell me how to get to the Shadowlands, anyway?)"

"(No)" they firmly replied. "(We don't what to see you killed)"

I frowned. They were lying, I could tell; what I couldn't figure out was why. But I decided to let it go with them and move on.

All through lunch, I went from group to group of Wookiees with the same results. I would ask the questions about getting to the Shadowlands and the Star Map only to get shot down, repeatedly. At first, everyone was eager to talk with me since I was an outlander that spoke their language, which was a bit of a novelty. But then once I started mentioning the Star Map and Revan, everyone would clam up and give me the cold shoulder. By the time lunch ended, I had gotten nothing except more questions.

"How'd it go?" Rosh inquired as we headed back to the conference room.

"I got zilch," I sighed. "They know something but no one is willing to talk."

"Hmm, interesting," Rosh stroked his chin. "Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off and do some more poking around? Besides, it's not like you're learning that much from hanging around these negotiations."

"Gladly," I answered with relief.

"You're welcome," Rosh smirked and ducked back inside, leaving me alone.

"(I heard you asking about the Shadowlands and the Star Map)" a voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned to see Anduur standing there. "(Yeah, I'm supposed to find it. It's kind of a Force thing)" I answered. "(Know anything about it?)"

"(Yes)" Anduur nodded. "(We all do. It is one of the most important and most closely guarded legends in our village. It isn't something we are fond of sharing with outsiders)"

"(I gathered)" I sardonically noted. "(Are you going to share it with me?)"

"(Are you sure you've been led by the Force?)" Anduur asked.

"(Trust me, I wouldn't put myself through all this crap)" I snorted. "(Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure)"

"(Very well)" Anduur agreed. "(I will take you to the Shadowlands)"

"(Thanks)" I replied. "(Let's go)"

"(Do you want to get your friends?)" the Wookiee queried.

"(Are the Shadowlands as dangerous as people say?)" I questioned.

"(More so)" Anduur answered. "(Some of the most dangerous predators in the world live down there)"

I looked over at the conference room. It was bad enough that I was dragging them into these suicidal situations; I'd be damned if I was going to take them into the Shadowlands, especially Atris.

"(No)" I shook my head. "(Let's go)"

"(As you wish)" Anduur shrugged.

"(Tell me this legend)" I demanded as we trudged down the suspended wooden walkway.

"(Our world was introduced to the rest of the galaxy about 4100 years ago by the Czerka Corporation. Czerka was a massive interplanetary conglomerate of the Old Republic)" Anduur explained. "(Czerka saw our species as chance for exploitation and began enslaving them. At first, it was abductions and occasionally some of my own people would sign up to help. Into all of this, one of our own, a young Wookiee named Chuundar, usurped the chieftain from his father and then sold his people to Czerka)"

"(I can see why this isn't a popular story to tell outsiders)" I remarked, earning a sharp look from my companion.

"(Yes, it does make sense)" Anduur continued. "(Anyway, Freyyr, Chuundar's father, was exiled to the Shadowlands were he met an outlander hermit named Jolee Bindo. Bindo was a former Jedi who had left the Order for reasons that only he knew and took up residence in the Shadowlands. He helped keep Freyyr alive until Revan arrived)"

"(Revan?)"

"(Yes, Revan)" confirmed Anduur. "(Your namesake came to Kashyyyk searching for this Star Map, like you. He was sent to the Shadowlands by Chuundar to kill Freyyr but when he got there, he did not. Instead he met Jolee and together they saved Freyyr and found the Star Map. Then they came back to the surface, killed Chuundar and drove Czerka off the planet, freeing us. Revan is always regarded as a hero and because you bear his name, I will help you fulfill his quest)"

"(Thanks, I really appreciate)" I thanked Anduur. "(Do you know where the Star Map is?)"

"(No)" Anduur shook his head. "(The location is lost, although we do know that it is northwest of Bindo's hut and we do know where that is. It isn't far from where the elevator touches down. Speaking of the elevator, here we are)"

It was a wooden platform operated by a hand pulley. Tipping my head down, all I saw was the line disappearing into the gloom.

"(How far down is the floor?)" I queried.

"(1.47 kilometers)" answered Anduur as he stepped onto the platform beside me. "(It'll take us 40 minutes to get down. Ready?)"

I looked almost longingly down the walkway to where my friends were. Part of me wished Atris and the others were here, but I knew that I couldn't bring them into this. Straightening up, I faced Anduur and nodded. "(Let's go)"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

True to his word, we got to the Shadowlands 40 minutes after beginning our descent. It was dark, almost night dark. The sounds down here were different, quieter and more menacing. I didn't need the Force to tell me that the animals down here were bigger and meaner than anything I'd ever met. With the low mist emanating from the ground, it gave the area an eerie feel.

"Creepy," I shuddered in basic.

Beside me Anduur laughed. "(It is always a little disconcerting the first time. But I believe you to be a warrior)" Anduur told me. "(Do not make me a fool for bringing down to where only our bravest go. Come, Bindo's hut is not far)"

I followed him through maze of trees and vines. "(Be careful with the vines)" he admonished as I brushed one away. "(Not all of them are really vines. Vine snakes can be very deceiving and are very deadly.)"

I froze in place, staring at the vine dangling in front of me. Reflexively, my hands went to my twin blades and I tentatively picked my way through them after my guide.

Have I said that I hate nature?

"(We're almost there)" Anduur told me in a strangely subdued voice. "(Just around the corner)"

Anduur took up position behind me as when turned the corner and—

"Oh shit," I breathed.

Sitting on two logs, waiting for us, were a half dozen individuals wearing black robes and with chrome cylinders strapped to their belts.

The Sith.

I had been led into a trap. They knew I was coming, I could tell that much by their body language. Behind me Anduur dropped any pretense of friendliness. Instead I felt unadulterated hatred pour out of him.

There was nothing I could do so I calmly walked forward to them. On cue, they stood in greeting. An older gentleman was clearly their leader, flanked by his subordinates one of whom included Malak, sporting a new metal jaw to replace the one I had severed.

"Good to see you again, Malak," I greeted. "Nice jaw." He just mechanically growled at me.

"It is good to see you again Revan," the leader replied.

That caught me off guard. "Have we met?" I cocked my head.

"We have, my son."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Family Reunion in the Shadowlands

"We have, my son."

"Say what now?" I blinked in shock. Not my best comeback, I know, but give me a break. How would you react if a Sith lord in the Shadowlands told you his was your father?

"I am your father, Revan," the Sith answered, unfazed by my low-hanging jaw.

"Do you have some kind of proof of that?" I asked warily, not believing what I was hearing. "Like DNA test, birth certificate, weird toenails? Something?"

"I can only offer you the Force," the man replied. "Search it and you will know the truth."

I'd like to say that at this point, nothing surprised me anymore. After all, in the last six months, I'd gone from being a street rat in the armpit of the galaxy to a Jedi. I'd learned how to leap small buildings in a single-bound, heal myself and others with a touch, lift things with my mind, and shoot lightning from my fingertips. I'd been sent on a quest to recover a bunch of ancient Star Maps to save the galaxy while receiving guidance from a 4000 year old Jedi in my dreams. My life was decidedly weird.

But this still caught me off-guard. As much as I wanted to deny what he was saying, one glance though the Force told me that he was telling the truth. Not only did this man believe he was my father, but he actually was. Satori was going to kill me.

This sudden revelation also raised a million and a half questions. Who, where, why, how, and what were the leading candidates with dozens of variations of each.

"I'm certain that you have lots of questions," the man stated as if reading my thoughts. The disturbing realization that he probably could flashed through my mind before I set that thought aside. There was nothing I could do about it.

"You could say that," I answered as evenly as I could under the circumstances.

"We have some time," he told me, sitting back down on a fallen log. "Sit and let's talk."

Quickly scanning, I decided that I might as well. I was surrounded by six Sith plus one Wookie who did not like me, so escape was not an option. Besides, I was rather curious about this new development.

"What do you wish to know?" he asked after I had seated myself.

"A name would be a good start," I replied.

"Vaner, Vaner Shan," he supplied. "Which means your full name is Revan Shan, descended nearly a thousand generations from Dark Lord Revan himself."

"Is my mother still alive? Or did you get rid of her once I was born?" I wondered.

"You seem to have the wrong idea about us Sith," laughed Vaner. "Although I'm not surprised given that you've spent time among the Jedi. They are apt to spread lies about us. We aren't the murdering monsters that you think us to be."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "The first time I encountered you, one of your minions had three completely innocent and helpless people at gunpoint. I hardly call that an act of kindness."

"We take what we want from the weak, as is our right," Vaner replied more seriously. "It is the right of the strong to do whatever they want."

"Yes of course. Nothing screams power like taking a farmer and his wife and daughter hostage," I sarcastically retorted.

Although Vaner didn't visibly react, I could feel him bristle in the Force. I needed to play this carefully. While I was no expert, I did know that restraint wasn't exactly considered a virtue among the Sith and if I pushed too hard, things could get ugly real quick. At the same time, I wanted to goad him into make a mistake.

"If they couldn't defend themselves, then they got what they deserved," Vaner edgily replied. "As to your mother, she is alive and well. In fact, with me she is the leader of the empire until you take over."

"Assuming I actually do," I pointed out. "I believe I've already made my position clear to metal mouth." Another metallic growl from Malak.

"Consider the offer," Vaner pressed. "You would have anything you wanted. You would live a life beyond even the richest crime lord you saw on Nar Shaada. You would be worshiped by trillions. You would be with your family."

"Family? Family!" I nearly exploded. "You think you have any right to call yourself my family? You abandoned me on the single worst world in the galaxy _as an infant_. It's a miracle I survived as long as I did."

"No, it wasn't a miracle," Vaner tried to correct. "You survived because you are strong; because you became strong. That is why your mother and I left you on Nar Shaada. If we had raised you as a pampered child in our home, believing from birth to be destined to be the emperor of the galaxy, you would be a weak, pathetic brat. So instead we left you Nar Shaada to train. It was the perfect place for a future Sith lord to train. There only the strong survive: the helpless serve the powerful; the strong prey on the weak. It is a Sith's paradise. We left you there to become strong and strong you've become."

"But not in the way you wanted," I told him, struggling to control the building anger inside me. My entire life had been a sick game to these people. "I watched all kinds of people bully the weak, taking what they wanted from those that couldn't defend themselves. And do you know what I thought of them?"

"What?"

"Pathetic," I spat out. "Life Lesson 49: there is nothing weaker than preying on the weak; true strength is in defending those that can't defend themselves. You claim that the Sith value strength above all else; yet what you call strength I call weakness. So if you think I'm going to join you, then you are truly insane."

Vaner's polite façade evaporated as his face twisted in rage. "Ungrateful fool," he venomously hissed, standing to his feet and sliding his hand to the hilt of his lightsaber. "I offer you an empire and you spit that offer back in my face."

"That's about the size of it," I stood up myself and backed up a couple paces, realizing I may have pushed him a bit too far. "What are you going to do?" I taunted nonetheless. "You aren't going to kill Revan's Heir, are you?"

That forced him to pause. I did have them in a pickle there: they couldn't kill me because I was Revan's Heir and their whole plan relied on me at the very least finding the Star Forge for them. On the other hand, they couldn't very well let me walk away.

"No, you're right," Vaner admitted. "We can't kill you."

"(What)!" Anduur exploded from behind. "(You promised me revenge)!"

"Silence beast," Vaner cut off sharply. "Him I may not be able to kill, but you do not have such a luxury. As for you," his attention returned to me, "we may not be able to kill you but there are fates worse than death."

"Life Lesson 68," I quipped. "I take it you have some horrible, scary fate in mind for me."

"Laugh all you want, boy," Vaner glowered. "You won't be laughing when we break you."

"You'll have to catch me first," I retorted.

"We have you now," Vaner shot back. "Men, take him."

"Over my dead body," I smirked impudently. "Oh, wait, that doesn't work for you, does it?"

"You'd better hope your saber's as sharp as your tongue, boy," returned Vaner, igniting his blade.

_Yeah,_ I thought to myself, _it'd better_.

I might have sounded brave, but in truth, I was terrified, like pee a river in your pants terrified. I had no clue how I was going to get out of this one. Vaner hit the nail on the head when he inadvertently quoted one of my life lessons; there are many fates worse than death. I should know; I've seen plenty of them on Nar Shaada. And those were only little pretend crime bosses; I could only shudder at the thought of what these psychopathic Sith might come up with.

Around me, lightsabers began leaping into life. Some were staffs, some were duals, while others were just single blades. One thing they all had in common was that they were crimson red.

I lit up my own weapons, noting the green and purple light gently bathing me. I was outnumbered seven to one, which to my calculations were not good odds, all the more so because I was pretty sure that they were all more trained than I. I ruefully glanced at my purple blade and shook my head. The curse of the purple blade was about to claim another victim.

"YAAAAAAAH!" a loud shriek sounded above me.

Reflexively we all looked up to see two green blurs come tumbling in, each tackling a Sith. A moment later two more shapes landed in front of me, Satori dropping in a three point stance, her blue blade singing while Atris more clumsily fell on her pretty little ass at my feet.

The green blurs, who had resolved themselves into Salty and Reeko, backed into us, green and blue blades respectively up and ready for action. Atris scrambled to her feet, straightened out her cloak, and ignited her silver weapon.

"Do I even ask what the hell you guys are doing here?" I demanded crossly.

"What does it look like?" Satori snorted. "Saving your sorry ass."

"Great," I growled. "Now you've gotten us all surrounded. How far did you think this one through?"

"Uh, this far?" offered Salty weakly.

"(Come on)" Reeko enthused, "(We can take them)"

"I'd love to know how," I retorted.

"Divide and conquer?" Salty suggested.

"That'd be great, if we could beat them one on one," I replied. "Except that I don't think _I_ could beat any of them one on one and none of you can beat me."

_Force wave_, I felt Atris suggest in my mind.

"What was that?" Satori yelped from my left. I guess that Atris was contacting all of us.

"Just go with it," I told her, not wanting to give anything away to our enemy who at the moment was content to keep its distance from the rainbow porcupine.

_If we all push with the Force at the same time, it should create a big enough wave to knock them back_, Atris explained.

"Then what?" Satori asked aloud.

"Then we run like hell," I replied. It was a long shot, but it was the best option on the table and we didn't have much time to brainstorm.

"Come now children, there's no need for this unpleasantness," Vaner tried to soothe. "There is plenty of room for all of you in the Sith."

"Fuck you," Satori snarled. And I thought I had bad diplomatic skills.

"Such language from a lady," Vaner blinked, taken a little aback.

"You clearly don't know Satori," I remarked.

"You'd fit right in in the Sith next to my son," Vaner observed.

"Next to your what?" Satori asked me as much as Vaner.

"Later," I warned her. "Let's survive this first."

"Why don't you join us?" offered Vaner. "You would make a great Sith lady. There's no need for you to die."

"Over my dead body," Satori echoed my earlier sentiment.

"As you wish," Vaner waved his hand and his minions moved in for the kill.

"Now!" I shouted and together we unleashed the most powerful Force push we could manage.

I'm not entirely sure what we were expecting, but what happened was significantly less epic than intended. We couldn't see anything until the Sith got picked up and dropped on their butts a dozen paces back while the bushes bent for a moment before returning to their normal position. We didn't stick around to see aftermath of our attack. Instead we all turn and ran as fast as we could in no particular direction but away.

"Where are we going?" Salty asked a step behind me.

"How the hell should I know?" I shot back. "Just run!"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

We stretched our Jedi endurance to the limit before coming to a stop in some hollow after an hour of flat-out sprinting. Our lungs burned and legs had just stopped working and so we collapsed in the cold grass, trying desperately to breathe.

"(Do you think we lost them)?" Reeko wheezed, which is a strange sound coming out of a Rodian.

"For the moment, yeah," I panted.

"Any idea where we are?" Satori asked through gasps.

"Not a clue," I shook my head weakly.

"Which means we have no way of getting back, do we?" she asked, getting a shake of the head. "Great," she growled. "This would be one of your hair-brained plans, wouldn't it?"

"My hair-brained plans?" I snapped back. "I'm not the one who came charging in with a rescue plan that forgot the rescue part. And the plan part, for that matter."

"Would it kill you to say thank you?" Satori demanded.

"No, but it might kill you," I glowered at her.

"Guys, enough!" Salty interjected forcefully. "None of this is helping us get out of here. Now we have to work together and think."

She had a point, as much as I hated to admit but Satori was really grinding on my nerves. Ever since the episode on Dantooine, she'd been outright hostile towards me. But we needed to get out of here and killing her, tempting as the thought might be, wasn't going to help that.

I sat up and looked around. This part of the Shadowlands looked like all the others I'd seen. Dark with massive trees, thick underbrush, low hanging vines, and home to the galaxy's worst choir. In other words, I had no clue what to do.

"I'm out of ideas," I announced, grabbing a vine to pull myself to my feet. "If this was a city, then I could probably figure something out but nature is something I just don't get. Or want to get."

"Come on, nature's not that bad," Salty countered as she stood to her feet. "Oh, and that's a vine snake you're grabbing by the way."

"YEEAHHH!" I screamed, jumping back as the "vine" in my hand suddenly twisted to look me in the eye and hiss. "I _hate_ nature," I remarked sourly while the others laughed.

"You're hopeless, city boy," Salty shot me a coy smile.

"Just get me out of here," I growled.

"We can't leave yet," Atris piped up. "We still have to find the Star Map."

Oh, right, the Star Map. I'd nearly forgotten. "Yeah, I'd guess we'd better get on that," I allowed with a sigh.

"Did your Wookie friend tell you where it was?" Atris inquired.

"No," I shook my head. "He says that no one knows. And he's not my friend."

"No kidding," Satori snorted. "What'd you do to piss him off?"

"I'm pretty sure I got his brother killed," I admitted with a twinge of guilt, remembering one of my worst moments.

"You what?" Salty looked at me.

"It's a long story," I told them. "When I was really little, like learning to walk and talk little, this Wookie named Huudor found me wandering around the streets and took me under his wing. He looked almost exactly like Anduur. He taught just about everything about surviving Nar Shaada. How to get lost in a crowd, how to pick someone's pocket, how to act, how to lie. He even taught me Shyriiwook. We became best friends until I was eight."

"What happened?" Atris asked gently, sensing the pain I was feeling at the memory.

"We stole some jewelry from the mistress of a Quarren boss," I answered. "We needed the money for food. Anyway, the Quarren got made and came after us. He found me alone and demanded to know who stole the jewelry."

"And you sold out Huudor," guessed Satori incredulously.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I told the Quarren that I had nothing to do with it but I knew who did and told them that Huudor had the jewelry. They shot him in the back and the Quarren mounted Huudor's head over his desk."

"How could you do that?" demanded Salty in horror.

"I was a terrified little kid," I replied. "There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not haunted by that. But believe it or not, it's not the worst thing I've done. Anyway, that's when I started keeping track of Life Lessons, hoping it would somehow make me better and maybe I could atone for what I did."

"Number 7 is about you, isn't it?" Atris asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "When I betrayed Huudor, I learned that you can never, ever trust anyone."

"That's awful," Salty shook her head.

"That was my childhood," I told her.

"And now Huudor's brother Anduur is after you for revenge," Satori surmised. "Perfect. Few things are more frightening than a Wookie seeking revenge."

"It would seem so," I concurred. "My guess is that somehow the Sith found out about him and Huudor and then offered him the chance at revenge if he could lure me here."

"How much do you want to bet that Anduur is the one who suggested that the Jedi intervene in this dispute?" Satori guessed. "It looks like we've been played again."

"You have no idea," I agreed.

"Speaking of which, what was that with the Sith leader calling you son?" Satori went on. "I thought you said your parents were dead."

"It appears that that is incorrect," I tightly answered. I did not want to discuss this now and certainly not with her.

"Really?" Satori crossed her arms and just glared. "Or did you just lie to us?"

"Yes and no," I winced as I realized I had backed myself into a corner. "When I told you that my parents were dead, it would seem that that wasn't true. The truth was that I had no idea what happened to them. I have no memories of them. My first memories are of Huudor finding me in an abandoned storage tank and being really hungry."

"So how do you know he's your dad?" Satori interrogated. "Did he bring you some sort of proof?"

"No, he told me to search the Force and he was right," I answered.

"Oh, the Force," Satori rolled her eyes.

"The Force does reveal things," Atris pointed out. "It would confirm something like this."

"Whose side are you on?" Salty asked, eyeing me with the same suspicion that Satori was.

"I wasn't aware we were on different sides," Atris replied, blinking.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Satori continued to stare me down. "So if your father's a Sith, how do we know you're on our side?"

"Because you know me," I answered exasperatedly. This was getting old fast.

"I thought we did," Salty said. "But after what you did to Huudor, I'm not so sure anymore."

That was the last straw. "You have no idea what it was like!" I shouted at them, finally losing my cool. "You all grew up in your nice little homes surrounded by a family that loved and adored you. I grew up with _no one_. All of your needs were provided for whereas I had to scratch and claw and fight just to survive each day. I had _nothing_ and I was _alone_. So yeah, I did some things I'm not proud of. I stole to survive and occasionally I killed those that tried to kill me. Once I even helped kidnap a girl. But none of you can possibly get that because my world is so foreign that you can't conceive of what it was like.

"And then the crown jewel of the joke that is my life is that all of this could've been avoided had my parents not been complete psychopaths," I almost laughed as I ranted. "I grew up thinking that something awful must've happened to them and that's why I was orphaned. But no, the truth was far worse. My parents _abandoned_ me on Nar Shaada. Have you even tried to understand that? My own parents abandoned me on the most crime-ridden planet in the galaxy alone because they thought it would make grow into a strong, powerful Sith. I can't imagine worse parents; can you? Have any of you stopped to consider how _I'm_ feeling in all of this?" my eyes narrowed into a glare as I went from person to person, studying their faces. "No, of course not. You just sit there on your high thrones and judge me when I have done nothing but try and protect you. Do know why I went off by myself?"

"Well no, not—" Saltanna started.

"No, of course you don't," I cut off. "I did it to protect _you_. They won't kill me because I'm too valuable to them. But you on the other hand, you they'll happily kill. So you're welcome."

They just stared at me blankly. I had no idea if my words got through or not and frankly, I was too angry to care at this point. My patience with them was up.

"Revan, I'm—" Satori began to apologize.

"Save Satori," I snarled at her. "It's too late. I can't take you guys anymore. We'll find the Star Map here but after this, we're done. I finish the rest of the quest on my own."

The others looked uncomfortably at each other. I could tell that they wanted to say something, but didn't have the courage to. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I was doing listening to their nonsense.

"(Hey guys)" Reeko, who had missed most of my rant, called from where he was examining a trail. "(I think you'd better come see this)"

With a last glare at them, I turned and hustled over to where the Rodian was excitedly pointing at something through the bushes. We all peeked through and gasped.

There, in the middle of a small clearing stood an ancient computer terminal with a holopad next to it. On the far side of the pad, folded up like an imperial shuttle, was the Star Map.

"Bingo," I declared.


End file.
